UK’s first woman to captain jumbo jet retires after final flight
The UK’s first woman to captain a jumbo jet has retired after landing at Gatwick Airport for the last time.
Virgin Atlantic pilot Yvonne Kershaw fought back tears as she described stepping off the Boeing 747 flight from Cancun, Mexico, on Wednesday morning.
The crew faced a challenging journey after a passenger was taken ill but the aircraft landed in London as planned, where it was met by an ambulance.
Mrs Kershaw, a grandmother from Petworth, West Sussex, joined the airline in 1990 and was granted command of the aircraft three years later.
The 64-year-old said many people have “preconceptions about what an airline captain should look like” and recalled that initially the main response from passengers was “surprise”.
She told the Press Association: “I suppose normally they would expect to see a silver-haired fox flying the aeroplane in command. It took a few years before people got used to seeing a woman coming out of the flight deck and being in charge.”
She went on: “Breaking down those barriers wasn’t easy but nobody ever said it would be. What you need is passion about your job, determination and skill.”
Mrs Kershaw said she hoped her career would encourage women to pursue their passion.
She said: “I really, really hope that it will inspire girls to consider flying. Or anything they want to do. You can do it – I’ve proved it.”
Caco