• Publish Your article
  • Editorial Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise
Sunday, August 24, 2025
No Result
View All Result
UK Herald
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    • All
    • Sports
    England rugby stadium Twickenham given new name after more than 100 years in shock new deal

    England rugby stadium Twickenham given new name after more than 100 years in shock new deal

    Peter Morgan dead at 65: Former Wales and Lions rugby star who became a politician passes away as club pays tribute

    Peter Morgan dead at 65: Former Wales and Lions rugby star who became a politician passes away as club pays tribute

    Horse racing tips: Unexposed Group 1 contender can stun the big guns at 14-1

    Horse racing tips: Unexposed Group 1 contender can stun the big guns at 14-1

    Woman ‘raped seven times by two French rugby stars who left her riddled with bite marks & with horror injuries’

    Woman ‘raped seven times by two French rugby stars who left her riddled with bite marks & with horror injuries’

    Horse racing tips: Gary Moore’s charge can gain revenge after falling last time out

    Horse racing tips: Gary Moore’s charge can gain revenge after falling last time out

    Ian Buckett dead at 56: Former Wales rugby star who was ‘admired and feared equally’ dies as tributes pour in

    Ian Buckett dead at 56: Former Wales rugby star who was ‘admired and feared equally’ dies as tributes pour in

    Horse racing tips: Bash the bookies with these longshots including 9-1 fancy

    Horse racing tips: Bash the bookies with these longshots including 9-1 fancy

    Shayne Philpott dead at 58 – New Zealand All Blacks rugby legend dies after suffering ‘medical event’

    Shayne Philpott dead at 58 – New Zealand All Blacks rugby legend dies after suffering ‘medical event’

    Horse racing tips: This 7-1 chance appears to have been laid out for race he won last year

    Horse racing tips: This 7-1 chance appears to have been laid out for race he won last year

  • Lifestyle
    • All
    • Fashion
    • food
    • Health
    • Travel
    British Airways First Lounge at Heathrow Airport review: ‘So relaxing, I missed the final boarding call’

    British Airways First Lounge at Heathrow Airport review: ‘So relaxing, I missed the final boarding call’

    The cheapest Spanish holiday destinations revealed – from £13 flights to £31 hotels

    The cheapest Spanish holiday destinations revealed – from £13 flights to £31 hotels

    I followed a dusty path in Ibiza and found the ‘White Isle’s’ most iconic hotel

    I followed a dusty path in Ibiza and found the ‘White Isle’s’ most iconic hotel

    The UK’s £12 train journey where you can see polar bears from your seat

    The UK’s £12 train journey where you can see polar bears from your seat

    ‘Europe’s Hawaii’ that’s often dubbed a ‘Canaries alternative’ is having a record-breaking year

    ‘Europe’s Hawaii’ that’s often dubbed a ‘Canaries alternative’ is having a record-breaking year

    I’ll never go on another slum tour after speaking to a local

    I’ll never go on another slum tour after speaking to a local

    This ‘incredible’ road will leave you both amazed and terrified

    This ‘incredible’ road will leave you both amazed and terrified

    The world’s funniest country revealed — and Brits are way off the mark

    The world’s funniest country revealed — and Brits are way off the mark

    Wizz Air launches 5 new Spanish routes from the UK – but not everyone is happy

    Wizz Air launches 5 new Spanish routes from the UK – but not everyone is happy

    I flew 4,600 miles to a Jamaican resort that offers more than just ‘fly and flop’

    I flew 4,600 miles to a Jamaican resort that offers more than just ‘fly and flop’

    Trending Tags

    • Golden Globes
    • Mr. Robot
    • MotoGP 2017
    • Climate Change
    • Flat Earth
  • Health
  • Opinion
  • Science
  • Tech
  • Crypto
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Sports
  • More
    • Press Release
UK Herald
No Result
View All Result

I’m a female pilot but I get mistaken for cabin crew every single day

by Justin Marsh
September 28, 2024
0
0
SHARES
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterReddit


Shibani Kaur Gupta
Shibani has been a pilot for half her life, but still gets mistaken for cabin crew (Picture: Shibani Kaur Gupta)

While her friends were learning to drive as teenagers, Shibani Kaur Gupta was busy learning to fly, earning her private pilot licence at just 17 years old. 

Having grown up five minutes from an airport, she’d always loved planes — a passion that she shared with her father.

‘All I spoke about as a child was aircrafts, and airlines, different tail registrations, and liveries,’ she tells Metro.co.uk.

‘My dad always encouraged my sisters and I to meet pilots and go into flight decks whenever we could. It really inspired me.

‘I remember speaking to a female pilot when I was about seven or eight and it was really exciting to meet her, but becoming a pilot didn’t happen very organically for me — I was initially going to be a doctor.’

Shibani Kaur Gupta in the flight deck of a plane.
She got her private pilot licence at 17, and her commercial licence at 18. (Picture: Shibani Kaur Gupta)

Shibani, now 35, recalls how she planned to pursue medicine, but after starting to study the subject, she quickly realised it wasn’t the right path for her.

So at 18, she decided to turn her love of planes into a career, and began working to obtain a commercial pilot licence so she could fly for a living.

’18 is the earliest legal age you can get your commercial licence,’ she explains. ‘You can get the private one earlier but that’s just for fun, it doesn’t allow you to have any revenue clients.’

By 19, she’d completed a year of training and exams, achieved the qualification, and landed her first proper pilot role, making her one of the youngest people on the job.

‘I moved to India to be closer to my family and started flying there,’ she says. ‘It was with a company called Jet Airways, based out of Mumbai and I worked there for 13 years.’

Shibani currently lives in London with her husband and has worked up the ranks to become a Line Training Captain for Wizz Air.

But despite having been a pilot for half of her life, not a day goes by that she doesn’t get mistaken for a flight attendant.

‘It’s something I’m so used to, it happens so often,’ she admits.

And it’s not only strangers that assume she’s cabin crew. When she was getting married, Shibani claims her husband’s side of the family didn’t believe she was a pilot. 

‘My mother-in-law told people that I’m a pilot and they would say “No, you must be mistaken, surely she’s cabin crew”. And she’d have to say that she knows for sure that I’m a pilot.’

Shibani in the flight deck of a plane
Less than 8% of pilots in the industry are female. (Picture: Shibani Kaur Gupta)

While some assume she’s a flight attendant, others have assumed she must not be very good at her job simply because she’s a woman. A male passenger once even refused to board a plane after discovering she would be the one flying it.

‘I assumed he was joking, but he had some real qualms about a female being the pilot and taking him to that particular destination, as it was quite a challenging journey,’ Shibani recalls.

‘He hadn’t really seen a female pilot before, as there aren’t that many of us. Only about 6-8% of pilots are female, and only about 3.8% are captains. There were even less when I first started flying in 2007.

‘The problem was all to do with his cognitive bias. People assume that [being a pilot] is a physical job and only men can do physical and laborious jobs, which is completely incorrect. This job isn’t physical, it’s more mental, there’s lots of decision making involved and there are emergencies to deal with, and I feel like women are particularly good at staying calm in those kinds of situations.’

Shibani proved this point when she successfully calmed the passenger down and convinced him to board the flight as planned.

‘I was very composed and I assured him that I was very experienced and I wouldn’t be there if I didn’t deserve to be,’ she says.

The flight went smoothly and he ended up apologising for his earlier comments, claiming it was ‘by far the best flight’ he’d ever taken to that particular destination.

‘After that experience, he probably wishes there were more females in flight decks,’ Shibani jokes.

Do you believe more can be done to support women in male-dominated professions?Comment Now

Despite what you might assume, Shibani doesn’t get easily offended by comments about her gender. She’s aware that she works in a very male-dominated profession, and feels privileged to be one of the few female pilots in the industry.

‘Why should I be offended? It’s very important that people realise women can be pilots too,’ she says.

‘It can be difficult to break into a male dominated industry like this, and it does have its challenges, but at the same time it’s very rewarding.

‘Every time I’ve had someone make a comment about my gender, the flight has ended up being a game-changer for them, it’s helped to changed their perspective about women in aviation.

‘I feel very honoured and blessed to have an opportunity to break down gender stereotypes and really make a difference.’

Do you have a story to share?

Get in touch by emailing [email protected].



Source link

Related Posts

British Airways First Lounge at Heathrow Airport review: ‘So relaxing, I missed the final boarding call’

British Airways First Lounge at Heathrow Airport review: ‘So relaxing, I missed the final boarding call’

by Justin Marsh
August 23, 2025
0

The First Lounge is light and airy, with runway views (Picture: Stuart Bailey) Iced lemon water. Plush sofas. Scented towels. No, I hadn’t walked into a spa, but rather British Airways’ first-class...

The cheapest Spanish holiday destinations revealed – from £13 flights to £31 hotels

The cheapest Spanish holiday destinations revealed – from £13 flights to £31 hotels

by Justin Marsh
August 20, 2025
0

Málaga offers some of the most affordable flights and from there, you can reach destinations like Estepona (Picture: Shutterstock) If you’re looking for a last-minute summer getaway, then good news — you...

I followed a dusty path in Ibiza and found the ‘White Isle’s’ most iconic hotel

I followed a dusty path in Ibiza and found the ‘White Isle’s’ most iconic hotel

by Justin Marsh
August 17, 2025
0

Even if you’ve never heard of Pikes, you probably know about it (Picture: James Christiansen) Metro Checks In to Pikes Ibiza, an institution of the infamous ‘White Isle’ that is as famous...

The UK’s £12 train journey where you can see polar bears from your seat

The UK’s £12 train journey where you can see polar bears from your seat

by Justin Marsh
August 14, 2025
0

It’s a pretty unexpected sight (Picture: Getty/Alex Michie) It’s no secret that there are some pretty scenic train routes around the UK, showcasing everything from rugged Scottish countryside to the stunning Cornish...

‘Europe’s Hawaii’ that’s often dubbed a ‘Canaries alternative’ is having a record-breaking year

‘Europe’s Hawaii’ that’s often dubbed a ‘Canaries alternative’ is having a record-breaking year

by Justin Marsh
August 11, 2025
0

With record-breaking airline traffic and cruise ship calls, Madeira is having a moment (Picture: Getty Images) With over 1,660 flights scheduled to land in Madeira in August alone, it’s clear that this...

I’ll never go on another slum tour after speaking to a local

I’ll never go on another slum tour after speaking to a local

by Justin Marsh
August 8, 2025
0

He explained to me that he regularly saw hordes of tourists walking through the neighbourhood (Picture: Rashmi Narayan) Sauntering through the busy streets filled with beautiful pottery, fine leather, exquisite puppetry, and sparkling...

Next Post
The environmentally-conscious cars to buy if you're not ready to go electric

The environmentally-conscious cars to buy if you're not ready to go electric

Popular News

Rock and Rolls: £ 500k Phantom Takes a Plunge in Swimming Pool

Rock and Rolls: £ 500k Phantom Takes a Plunge in Swimming Pool

August 23, 2025
British Airways First Lounge at Heathrow Airport review: ‘So relaxing, I missed the final boarding call’

British Airways First Lounge at Heathrow Airport review: ‘So relaxing, I missed the final boarding call’

August 23, 2025
Fear during space mission but you have a trusted team behind you- Shubhanshu Shukla

Fear during space mission but you have a trusted team behind you- Shubhanshu Shukla

August 21, 2025
Toyota BZ4X Electric SUV Prices Cut to £ 36,995

Toyota BZ4X Electric SUV Prices Cut to £ 36,995

August 20, 2025
The cheapest Spanish holiday destinations revealed – from £13 flights to £31 hotels

The cheapest Spanish holiday destinations revealed – from £13 flights to £31 hotels

August 20, 2025
Email-based publisher The Flyover has 25 full-time staff two years after launch

Email-based publisher The Flyover has 25 full-time staff two years after launch

August 20, 2025

Legalne Kasyna w Polsce – Przewodnik

August 20, 2025
UK Herald

All Rights Reserved © UK HERALD - The Voice of UK

Important Links

  • Publish Your article
  • Editorial Policy
  • Contact
  • Advertise

...

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Politics
  • UK News
  • Business
  • Science
  • National
  • Entertainment
  • Gaming
  • Sports
  • Fashion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Food

All Rights Reserved © UK HERALD - The Voice of UK