Gráinne Cronin (born about 1953) was the first woman to become a pilot for

Aer Lingus Aer Lingus ( ; an anglicisation of the Irish , meaning "air fleet" compare Welsh 'llynges awyr') is the flag carrier of Ireland. Founded by the Irish Government, it was privatised between 2006 and 2015 and it is now a wholly owned subsidiary ...

and the first woman pilot commercially employed in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Life

Born to pilot captain Felim Cronin in

Ennis, County Clare Ennis () is the county town of County Clare, in the mid-west of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town lies on the River Fergus, north of where the river widens and enters the Shannon Estuary. Ennis is the largest town in County Clare, with a ...

, Cronin's sister Caroline is also a commercial pilot. Her husband is also as pilot and her daughters Alana and Louisa Johnston both hold private pilots licences, and Louisa has a commercial licence. She learned to fly while she was at university in her father's Piper Cub. Rather than teach her to fly, her father asked his first officer Neil Johnston. Johnston taught her to fly and later married Cronin. She lives in Malahide,

Career

Cronin was hired as a pilot by Aer Lingus in 1977. When she first joined in 1975, at the age of 22, it was as a flight attendant. But by the time she was 24 she went for flight training in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Her first flight was in January 1978. Initially working as a co-pilot, in 1988 she became the airline's first woman captain. She retired on 25 May 2010.

SAS SAS or Sas may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''SAS'' (novel series), a French book series by Gérard de Villiers * ''Shimmer and Shine'', an American animated children's television series * Southern All Stars, a Japanese rock ba ...

were the first European airline to hire a woman pilot and

were the second. Within the next two years they had hired another two women. Though it seems to have taken a long time to get to this point,

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

didn't hire their first woman pilots for about another 6 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cronin, Gráinne Aviators from Dublin (city) 1953 births Living people Irish women aviators Women commercial aviators People from Malahide