Air bp celebrates diversity, equity and inclusion in aviation, as its eighth Sterling Pilot Scholar is announced

The eighth Air bp Sterling Pilot Scholar has been announced as 17-year-old Mollie Wadsworth. Mollie from Bingley, Yorkshire is currently undertaking her Private Pilot Licence (PPL) at Yorkshire Aviation Academy at Leeds East Airport. Mollie is Air bp’s fourth female scholar. With a passion for aviation as long as she can remember, Mollie started plane spotting age nine, joined the Air Cadets at 12, and took her first flight at 13 at RAF Linton-on-Ouse. She hopes to accomplish her next goal and complete her PPL by the end of September this year. Air bp’s Sterling Pilot Scholarship offers young aviators like Mollie the opportunity to start their journey to become a pilot. Mollie hopes eventually to go on to complete her Airline Transport Pilot’s Licence (ATPL), work as a commercial airline pilot and fly the Airbus A350. 

Mollie Wadsworth said: “I feel honoured and so fortunate to have been chosen and would like to thank Air bp for the opportunity. I love that through doing this scholarship, I will learn so much more about a subject that I am so passionate about, while gaining confidence and resilience, and fulfilling a lifelong dream. As a woman, I hope that I can encourage other aspiring young pilots to apply for scholarships like Air bp’s and follow their dreams in an industry where female pilots are so underrepresented.” 

The percentage of women airline pilots globally is only 5.8% but growing.  In the UK the share increased from 4.3% in 2016 to 4.9% in 2021 (source: CAA), while the figure for the US increased from 4.4% in 2017 to 4.9% in 2022. 

Federica Berra, senior vice president, Air bp said: “I would like to congratulate Mollie on being our eighth scholar and fourth female to be selected. Air bp is committed to encouraging young people like Mollie to join the aviation industry and programmes like ours are one way in which we can do that. Given the low rates of female pilots, we are even more excited to announce this news as it aligns with one of Air bp’s aims to promote diversity, equity and inclusion across the sector. I wish Mollie every success with her PPL and future career.” 

Air bp works with the Honourable Company of Air Pilots (HCAP) to organise the Air bp Sterling Pilot Scholarship because of its excellence in promoting the availability of scholarships to a wide public audience and its history of conducting a rigorous and fair selection process.    

Air bp’s Sterling Pilot Scholarship is named after its globally recognised fuel payment card, the Sterling card. The Sterling card provides easy access to fuel for thousands of clients and makes life simpler for private pilots, aircraft management companies and corporate flight departments at any of Air bp’s 700 locations globally.