British-Belgian teen becomes youngest pilot to fly around world solo

Mack Rutherford, 17, circumnavigated the world in five months after taking off from Sofia in Bulgaria on 23 March this year.

A British-Belgian teenage pilot has become the youngest person to fly around the world solo, Sky News reports.

Mack Rutherford, 17, took off from Sofia in Bulgaria on 23 March this year and flew to Italy and Greece, before navigating Asia, Africa, the US and two oceans.

The aviator landed again in the Bulgarian capital on Wednesday - five months after setting out on his odyssey.

He broke the Guinness World Record set by 18-year-old Travis Ludlow in 2021, who completed the feat aged 18 and 150 days.

Mack was encouraged by his sister Zara, who in January became the youngest woman to fly around the world, aged 19.

He flew a fast ultralight Shark, which has a cruising speed reaching 300km/h (186mph).

Speaking in Bulgaria, he told reporters: "Just follow your dreams, no matter how old you are.

"Work hard and move forward to achieve your goals."

His journey began on 23 March and has involved facing sandstorms in Sudan, extreme heat in Dubai and airport closures in India.

Speaking ahead of his trip, he said flying is a "dream" that has always been a part of his and his sister's lives, following in the footsteps of their mother and father, who are both talented pilots.

"When you get in the air and you just see everything so small you can literally go wherever you want to go.

"It's just incredible, I've always loved it."

Mack, who qualified for his pilot's licence in July 2020 - the youngest pilot in the world at the age of 15 years and two weeks - insisted he is not trying to get one up on his sister and instead sees her as an inspiration.