easyJet hosts local primary school at Glasgow Airport to inspire the next generation of aviators

• easyJet has hosted students from Bearsden Primary School at Glasgow Airport to inspire more young people to discover an exciting career in aviation
• Children spent time in an easyJet aircraft, learning about what it takes to provide the best inflight service to passengers and finding out from easyJet pilots, cabin crew, and engineers about their jobs
• The initiative is part of easyJet’s ongoing work to inspire the next generation of aviators

easyJet has welcomed students from Bearsden Primary School in Glasgow to provide insights into the travel and aviation industries to help inspire more young people to discover the exciting opportunities working in the aviation and travel industry.

The airline hosted nearly 30 students from Primary 7, Bearsden Primary School at its Glasgow base where students were provided with a first-hand insight into what it takes to provide the best inflight service to passengers and find out from easyJet pilots, cabin crew, and engineers about their jobs and how they got there.

The students also had an insight into a live airline environment by going behind the scenes at Glasgow Airport terminal and exploring first-hand a pilot’s office – the flight deck of an A320 easyJet aircraft. Pupils were shown the controls by easyJet pilots and were given the opportunity to practice making cabin crew passenger announcements. Students also met the airport fire station team where they saw some of the fire-fighting equipment in operation.

Mike Leslie, easyJet Base Captain, said:

“We are delighted to have taken students from Bearsden Primary School behind the scenes not only to offer a unique and exciting day out, but also one we hope will inspire the next generation of pilots, cabin crew, and engineers.”

Catriona Smith, Headteacher at Bearsden Primary School, said:

“One of our P7 classes took part in a STEM competition run by ASSET  (Aero Space Scientific Educational Trust). We had two drones to use to complete a series of challenges and the children are able to choose areas of the challenge which are of interest to them. We have trained drone pilots and engineers to help set up and fly the drone in order to complete the challenges. 

“We were then thrilled to have easyJet and Glasgow Airport involved and the children are able to see how their drones fit into aviation work, and experience different careers available in this field. This experience could not be replicated in the classroom and will inspire children into careers in STEM.”

The initiative forms part of the airline’s ongoing work to inspire the next generation of aviators and to drive a more diverse community within the airline and the aviation industry as a whole. easyJet has been tackling this industry challenge for a number of years through initiatives including recruitment campaigns, its pilot school visits programme and last year’s Summer Flight School.

Since 2016, the airline’s Pilot School Visits programme has seen pilots visit hundreds of schools up and down the country for young people to learn more about the career, focused on encouraging more girls to become an airline pilot. Schools and parents can request a visit from an easyJet pilot by contacting pilotvisits@easyJet.com.

For further information, please contact the easyJet Press Office on 01582 525252, log onto www.easyJet.com or follow @easyJet_Press

About easyJet

easyJet is Europe’s leading airline offering a unique and winning combination of the best route network connecting Europe’s primary airports with great value fares and friendly service.

easyJet flies on more of Europe’s most popular routes than any other airline and carried more than 82 million passengers in 2023 with more than 11.3 million travelling for business. The airline has over 300 aircraft flying on nearly 1000 routes to more than 155 airports across 35 countries. Over 300 million Europeans live within one hour’s drive of an easyJet airport.

easyJet aims to be a good corporate citizen, employing people on local contracts in eight countries across Europe in full compliance with national laws and recognising their trade unions. The airline supports several local charities and has a corporate partnership with UNICEF which has raised nearly £17m for the most vulnerable children since it was established in 2012.

In 2022, easyJet published its roadmap to net zero by 2050. The roadmap, which also features a combination of fleet renewal, operational efficiencies, airspace modernisation, Sustainable Aviation Fuel and carbon removal technology, has set an ambitious interim carbon emissions intensity reduction target of 35% by 2035. The airline’s ultimate aim is to fully transition its fleet to zero carbon emission technology, which it will achieve through a number of strategic partnerships including with Airbus, Rolls-Royce and GKN Aerospace Solutions. Since 2000, the airline has successfully reduced its carbon emissions per passenger, per kilometre by one-third.  

Innovation is in easyJet’s DNA – since launching nearly 30 years ago, easyJet changed the way people fly to the present day where the airline leads the industry in digital and operational innovations to make travel more easy and affordable for its passengers.

In 2023 easyJet was named by TIME as one of the World’s Best Companies and a Leader in Diversity 2024 by The Financial Times.