A 26-year old woman from Carlisle has become the world’s youngest commercial airline captain.

EasyJet pilot Kate McWilliams recently passed her command course to fulfil her lifelong ambition of becoming a captain. She now flies to more than 106 destinations out of London Gatwick airport.

Currently, just five per cent of commercial pilots are female but it is hoped that Kate’s story will inspire more women to pursue a career as a pilot.

In 2015, EasyJet announced a new initiative to double the proportion of female new entrants to 12 per cent before 2018.

Kate said she would strongly urge females interested in aviation to think about pursuing a career as a pilot, and any existing pilots to push themselves to become a captain.

She revealed that passengers ask her age “on an almost daily basis” but she doesn’t think her age matters.

“I've been through the same training and passed the same command course as every other captain so I've proven myself capable regardless of my age,” she told The Express.

Julie Westhorp, chairwoman of the British Women Pilots' Association, hailed Kate as an excellent role model and added that her achievement was proof that young women can succeed as a pilot in commercial aviation.

All this comes after similar calls encouraging women to consider a career in the transport industry, especially haulage.