IWD: Loganair’s Rachel Gilmour Becomes One of Europe’s Youngest Pilots, at 26

A female pilot from the town of Largs, in Scotland, is flying high this International Women’s Day as she earns her Captain stripes with Loganair, the UK’s largest regional airline, aged just 26 years old.  

The average age of a pilot in Europe is 43 years old and only 5% of those pilots are women. But, if you’ve been on a recent Loganair flight from Glasgow to Stornoway or Benbecula, you might have met your 26-year-old female captain, Rachel Gilmour.   
 

Rachel, who grew up in Largs, knew she wanted to become a pilot at a young age but with no one in the family within the sector, her love of travel sealed the deal, and now at the age of 26 she has recently been promoted to the rank of Captain. 
 

After attending a Pilot Career’s Day with her dad at Heathrow Airport, Rachel started flying in Dundee at a school called Tayside Aviation and as her friends jetted off on group holidays after school, Rachel took to the skies in her own way as she committed her time to her dream of becoming a pilot. After passing her exams, she became an instructor at the school at just 22, teaching others how to fly.   
 

After joining Loganair as a pilot at just 24, Rachel moved to Aberdeen where she earned her stripes as second in command. Now, Rachel is back in Glasgow and flying from the airline’s HQ at Glasgow Airport, transporting passengers to and from Stornoway and Benbecula, as well as other seasonal routes, on an Embraer 145 aircraft.   
 

Ms Gilmour said: “It’s an honour to be able to fly for Loganair and I especially love providing that lifeline service for people to connect them to the mainland which is something really special.  
 

“Loganair has given me the opportunity to get a lot of experience under my belt and I’m really proud to now be a Captain at just 26 years old.  

“Age is really just a number and I really hope I can encourage more young women and girls to consider roles like mine.”  
 

Rachel met her boyfriend at Loganair, who was also a pilot with the airline at the time.   
 

Rachel continued: “I’ve not had the chance to fly any of my friends or family yet, as I was based in Aberdeen previously, but I’ve flown my partner on a few occasions and he’s always given me the thumbs up on landing.”  
 
International Women’s Day is a global day celebrating the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women. 

The theme for 2025 is Accelerate Action, acting as a worldwide call to action to acknowledge the strategies, resources and activity that positively impact women’s advancement, and to support and elevate their implementation.