UK youngest airline pilot: 19 years old teenage boy qualifies as airline pilot

Luke Elsworth is taking the helm in passenger jets at age 19 - just two years after he was allowed a driver’s licence.
Luke was offered a job with easyJet after taking one of the fastest possible routes to becoming qualified.
He enrolled in the airline’s pilot training programme at CTC Aviation in Southampton almost as soon as they would accept him - just nine days after his 18th birthday.
He completed the course - which included six months on simulators and a stint flying light aircraft in Arizona, USA - in 18 months and he was appointed as a first officer for easyJet in April.
He holds a Multi-Crew Pilot Licence and is the youngest airline pilot in the UK, according to Civil Aviation Authority records.

Asked whether he felt it was appropriate for someone of his age to fly passenger jets, Luke replied: “I don’t see why not.I really want to encourage more younger people to get into it.
“If you’re good enough to be there, you’ve done the training and you’re suited towards it then I don’t think age really has an impact.”
He insisted he has not noticed any worried looks from passengers when they see him enter the cockpit.
“I’ve not had anything,” he said. “If there was a train driver that was 18 and he’d been through all the training I’d have complete trust in him. I wouldn’t bat an eyelid.”

Luke, who grew up near Warrington, Cheshire and is now based at London Gatwick, described his first flight - from Gatwick to Toulouse in the south of France - as “incredible”.
He added: “Maybe I sacrificed going to university. On your days off you might not be going to the pub and drinking loads, but you can still go out and have fun.
“It’s not as if you’re constrained to being inside all day revising. You do get the opportunity to relax. I don’t feel like I’m missing out.”

Luke flies Airbus A319 and A320 planes.
His next step is to become a captain - although despite his rapid progression that does not normally happen for at least eight years.