Britain’s first female fast jet pilot has touched down in Guernsey with a message for the next generation of women: “Talent has never been determined by gender.”
Jo Salter MBE arrived on the island yesterday aboard an Aurigny flight from Gatwick, with Captain Fiona Power and First Officer Natasha Putland at the controls and cabin crew Gemma Creber and Faith Lester looking after the flight.
It was a fitting welcome for the woman who broke the RAF’s fast-jet glass ceiling, becoming its first female fast jet pilot in 1994.
Salter said: “When I started flying fast jets, there were very few women in military aviation, so to arrive in Guernsey with an all-female crew was a really special moment.”
She added that she was particularly excited by the opportunities opening up for the next generation, saying: “It’s wonderful to see how far we’ve come, but what excites me most is the next generation of women who won’t think twice about pursuing a career in aviation.”
Times are changing
There are already signs of that changing landscape at Aurigny.
Three of the six young people recently selected for its Leading Edge pathway to the flight deck are women: Annabelle, Helena and Poppy.
The airline said that having half its cadet intake made up of women would have been unlikely just a decade or two ago.
Salter was welcomed on arrival by Aurigny non-executive director Gill Morris and Head of People and Culture Sophie Creed.
She is on the island to deliver the keynote address at the Chamber of Commerce Gala Dinner, on the closing evening of Guernsey’s ‘AI Sprint 2026’.
Her message to the business leaders gathering for the event will be to challenge the status quo, embrace new opportunities and be bold in the age of artificial intelligence.
And she hopes the message from her flight will reach well beyond the cockpit.
“The more we challenge assumptions about who can do what, the more opportunities we create for everyone,” she said.
“I hope today’s flight inspires others to believe that the sky really isn’t the limit!”
