by Patrick Strudwick

When the 07:00 Glasgow to Stornoway flight left the tarmac on Saturday morning, passengers were unaware that the pilot was about to make history.

After a year fighting with the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) — successfully overturning a policy widely regarded as discriminatory — and nearly two years of intense training, James Bushe, 31, became the first person with HIV to gain a commercial pilot’s license and fly a commercial flight.

“I feel incredibly proud and privileged to be in this position,” Bushe told BuzzFeed News. “There was a point in time when I didn't think it was going to be possible.”

In 2017, Bushe revealed to BuzzFeed News that he had been blocked from accepting his place on an easyJet pilot training course because the CAA’s interpretation of the rules concerning HIV-positive applicants — as laid down by its European regulator, EASA — forbade it. At the time, he decided to remain anonymous and was referred to only as Anthony.

But today, having overturned the ban — following a furore over the story and extensive campaigning by the charity HIV Scotland — and having completed his training and secured a job as a pilot with Scottish carrier Loganair, Bushe has decided to reveal his identity in an attempt to combat the stigma surrounding HIV.

“I just wanted to be able to deliver a message to anyone else living with HIV who has been been discriminated against, who faces barriers to employment or who wants to be a pilot, to say to them that it absolutely is possible,” said Bushe. Read more via Buzzfeed