From plane spotting to first flight

Image courtesy MAG

Adam Nadeem (above), aged 24, took to the skies as Second Officer on easyJet’s 07:45 flight to Geneva, before also piloting the return flight from the Swiss city to Manchester. 

It marks the culmination of a decade-long journey for Adam, who first had his interest in aviation sparked by a visit to the airport’s Runway Visitor Park as a 14-year-old. He became a keen aviation photographer and over the past 10 years has built himself a large audience on social media, with more than 26,000 followers on Instagram. 

Reflecting on where his interest in a piloting career began, he said: “Growing up, I was that youngster who would always ask to go to the flight deck after landing to meet the pilots – those moments made a real impression on me. 

“A school friend knew I loved planes and suggested we go to the Runway Visitor Park at Manchester Airport. I took my first camera along, a Nikon D3300, and that was pretty much it. That same day, I set up my aviation photography page on Instagram. It’s something I’m really proud of when I look back at where I started.”

Adam knew from a young age, though, that his true calling was not on the sidelines but at the heart of the action. A week spent on work experience at the airport as a 16-year-old confirmed that this was the industry he wanted to build a career in. 

He spent time shadowing the security team, the fire department and airside operations, as well as making an introduction to the airport’s press and social media teams – who had become aware of the sizeable following he was building on his own digital platforms. Soon, Adam was being invited to airport events in an official capacity as an aviation photographer. 

Jonathan Challis, a member of the airport’s Future Airspace team who mentored Adam during his work experience and has kept in touch ever since, said: “It has been a privilege to share Adam’s aviation journey from his first day on Work Experience. We have continued to meet for a coffee from time to time and Adam always been inquisitive, keen to develop a wider aviation interest outside the flight deck and sought precision and excellence in his work. These are the qualities you need in a commercial pilot.”

By 2017, Adam was taking his first flying lessons at Barton aerodrome – and it quickly became a passion to rival his aviation photography hobby. He moved to Oxford to take on an intensive integrated flying course, where he passed exams on 13 different subjects and racked up more than 100 hours of flying time on a single-engine plane, on the way to gaining his Commercial Pilot’s License. He said: “My first solo flight was quite a milestone for me – departing from Oxford to Norwich on my own. Once I had completed this, I was immensely proud of myself but also became confident in my abilities.”

Adam then progressed to flying a multi-engine aircraft for his Commercial Pilot Licence and Instrument Rating, along with 40 hours in an Airbus A320 simulator, working with a co-pilot in conditions designed to mimic a commercial jet. It was around this time that he applied to easyJet and was invited to an assessment day before being made a conditional offer of employment, once he had gained his full licence.

After a further eight-week course to gain his Type Rating on the A320, he undertook further training with easyJet at the airline’s facility in Gatwick and also completed base training – which saw him fly a real A320 for the first time. He explained: “I had to safely complete six landings and one go-around in the real aircraft. We flew circuits around the airfield at Teesside to complete this. It was so surreal – the result of everything I had worked towards.

“Here I was, filled with excitement, at the controls of a real 60-ton airliner. The feeling cannot be described but if you were a fly on the wall in the flight deck, you’d have just seen me smile the whole way round.”

Having completed his base training last month, Adam took to the skies with an aircraft full of passengers behind him for the first time yesterday – and feels he couldn’t have achieved it without the support and guidance of those he encountered at the airport almost a decade ago, and the support of the airline as he gained his wings.

He reflected: “Being an airline pilot is special, but the journey to get there is tough and really tests your dedication and motivation to get there. I am grateful to those that stood by me to support my journey no matter what it took. 

“The instructors here at easyJet are great, they are professional and want to impart their knowledge and experience to make you better. The company has a strong training philosophy where your limited experience as a cadet is acknowledged and the courses are designed to break things down to practice and get familiar with the aircraft. It was this that I have appreciated so much – having instructors and a company that are on your side and want you to be confident is a real credit to easyJet.

“I am also incredibly thankful to the teams across MAG who have cheered me on from the start, thank you for taking a chance on me all those years ago, providing me with invaluable experience and knowledge to take into my career. The teams across the business are a big reason why I pursued this career and my family, friends and peers all played a role into my success. I am proud to be where I am now after so much was given to get me here. I look forward to flying from Manchester Airport, a constant reminder of the place where it all began.

“My advice for any young person wanting to pursue a career as a pilot is to study hard at school, do some trial flights, attend open days at flight schools to see what they have to offer, and always be ready to learn. There’s no other way to say this, but it was a tough journey. It was demanding but with hard work and focus, it’s a career path that is within reach – particularly nowadays with airlines introducing sponsored schemes for people from all kinds of backgrounds.”

Marcella M’Rabety, Head of Social Sustainability at Manchester Airport, said: “Adam’s is such an inspirational story – a young man with a passion for flying who sought out opportunities to get some first-hand experience of the industry at a very young age and is now reaping the rewards. We’re proud to serve the people of the North at Manchester Airport – but when we say that, we don’t just mean by flying them to the places that they want to travel to. We are also very proud of the role we play in local communities, giving young people their first taste of a working environment and setting them on the path to fulfil their dreams, as Adam has done.”