Wizz Air pilot hugs parents after flying them back from holiday for first time
A Wizz Air pilot hugged her parents and admitted being "nervous" after flying her parents back from holiday for the first time.
Michelle Herberts, 28, welcomed her parents onboard her commercial airline flight from Palma to Luton after first starting her piloting journey five years ago. She was following in her ex-RAF and former airline pilot father's footsteps.
It cost £104,000 to gain her licence and is now a first officer. Michelle was able to finance her training after help from her parents, Mike, 76, and Chris, 61, while also taking out a bank loan which she is still paying off alongside her study fees. Michelle, originally from Belgium but now living in Luton, said: "I was quite nervous, excited and proud to fly my parents for the first time. As they supported me since day one, it was my moment to show them what my hard work and commitment resulted in.
"This would never have been possible without the help of my parents - a memory of a lifetime!" Michelle started her journey to becoming a pilot after following in her 'role model's' footsteps after her dad worked in the RAF, where he was shot in the arm, before later becoming a commercial pilot.
Michelle Herberts in the cockpit (@michelleherbie / CATERS NEWS)
Michelle welcomes her parents onto the plane (@michelleherbie / CATERS NEWS)After leaving the RAF after almost a decade, Mike joined the Sultan of Oman Airforce (SOAF). He received a Gallantry medal by the Sultan of Oman for saving the fighter jet after being shot. The late Queen Elizabeth permitted Mike to wear it on special occasions. Whilst on counter-insurgency operations, his arm was hit by a heavy machine gun which deflected off his watch and reduced the damage he took from the bullet.
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His career as a pilot could have ended if his arm had to be amputated but doctors did all they could to avoid that. Michelle never intended to follow her dad's career path after gaining a degree in special education and criminology. However, she first applied for flight school in 2018 and graduated in 2021 after experiencing delays due to Brexit and Covid-19.
She had the proud opportunity to fly her parents (@michelleherbie / CATERS NEWS)
Her dad was in the RAF (@michelleherbie / CATERS NEWS)She now holds a CPL license (Commercial Pilot Licence) with ATPL (Airline Transport Airline Licence) theory and is working towards her ATPL license but needs to complete more flying hours before gaining the qualification. While working for British low-cost airline, Wizz Air, she has flown to over 30 European and Eastern destinations.
Michelle is one of just over 70,000 female pilots in the world which is just short of 10%, with the percentage of non-student female pilots being slightly over six percent. "When I started flight school, I had only one more female in my class of 23 but I understand why there's more men in the industry as it's not a nine-to-five job," she said.
Michelle with her dad (@michelleherbie / CATERS NEWS)
Michelle admitted she was nervous flying her parents (@michelleherbie / CATERS NEWS)"I think what motivates me the most is my dad who is my role model. His attitude, he's hard-working, it inspires me to be like him. My dad's mum and dad were in the military but none of them were pilots. So, my dad was the first pilot and I have continued it. My dad never really pushed me to become a pilot - it just came naturally."
She added: "During the last year of my degree, I had some friends who are airline pilots in a company in Belgium. I never really realised that it was something that I could do. When it became more approachable after looking at social media and seeing other female pilots, I thought well maybe it's a possibility.
"It was about 120,000 thousand euros which is quite expensive. I financed it through the help of my parents and a loan from the bank which I'm obviously still paying off. So pretty much thanks to my parents I was able to learn to fly. When I walked outside the cockpit and saw my mum and dad, I did get a bit emotional because it meant a lot to me. I showed them around the A320 cockpit with a lot of pride.
"I was quite nervous about my landing as my dad was probably watching and judging my landing with critical eyes haha! It was a great flight though and I finished it off with a nice landing on the Luton runway."
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