Pilot Anne:

“I’m Anne LABBE and I was born in Bordeaux (France), I don’t have any family in aviation and I went to my first flight school by chance. But my passion for aviation grew up and I started flying when I was 14 years old. I got my PPL at 17 and became therefore the French youngest pilot.

In July 2018. I was selected for the HOP! Tour of France with 45 other young pilots. After 2 weeks of flying and theoretical testing, I was awarded the first place, making me the first female for 40 years to be granted with such honor. The following year, in 2019, I took part in a journey from Toulouse to St Louis in Sénégal as the youngest pilot and navigator. In September 2020, I joined the Airbus Flight Academy as a cadet.

I am the only woman in my group of ten students. On one hand, I feel a bit lonely but on the other hand, it is a privilege to be part of the few women in the school. But the gender difference has never been a source of problem in the school for me and the team cohesion is excellent.

We help each other by giving advice, listening and answering the questions of everyone in the batch. With the support from my instructors and classmates, I easily succeeded in my first 4 subjects in February and I am now continuing for the second module which includes Meteo, Mass & Balance, Aircraft General Knowledge, and Radionavigation. The atmosphere of the group is amazing and I enjoy most of the courses. I am excited and looking forward to the flight phase.” Kind regards, Anne LABBE