▲Zara Rutherford's plane entering the airport
A 19-year-old woman with multiple British and Belgian citizenships broke the world record for being the youngest woman to successfully circumnavigate the world on a solo flight.
Local media, including Reuters on the 21st of local time, reported that Zara Rutherford (19), who started around the world in Belgium on August 18, last year, completed the 155-day journey when she returned to Belgium.
When Rutherford's plane, which had finished circumnavigating the world, entered Belgian airspace, 4 squadrons of fighter jets of the Belgian Air Force's special wing 'Red Devils' met and welcomed them as a companion flight. landed at the airport.
After the long flight, Rutherford welcomed the Guinness Book of Records certificate prepared on the plane and cheered, hugging and sharing joy with the family who came to meet him.
▲ Zara Rutherford interviewing reporters.
The previous record for the youngest woman to circumnavigate the world was set by American Shaesta Weiss in 2017 when she was 30 years old.
It was also the first record for a Belgian flight around the world.
Rutherford flew a whopping 52,000 km over five continents, and on December 11, last year, he visited Gimpo Airport in Korea and stayed for 3 days and 2 nights, then moved to Taiwan through Muan Airport.
The round-the-world tour, which was initially expected to take about three months, took about two more months due to bad weather in Alaska and visa problems in Russia.
When asked by a reporter where he got off the plane the most, Rutherford said, "I remember the active volcanoes of New York and Iceland.
Rutherford's parents are both pilots, and he has been flying light airplanes since the age of six and is said to have started flying his own at the age of 14.
Rutherford said the purpose of the flight was "to encourage young women to pursue STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) careers," Rutherford said.
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(Photo = 'Guardian News' YouTube)