There are no signs of pilots in the UK deserting these shores for China as of yet, according to UK airlines.

Last week, a recent article in Chinadaily USA suggested there is a growing trend for US pilots to head to China for work.

UK airlines are yet to be affected. Virgin Atlantic told Recruiter: “We are definitely not seeing a trend”, while a British Airways spokesperson added “it’s not a problem for us”.

Derek Bament of pilots’ union and association, Independent Pilots Association, sees another trend foremost affecting UK pilots: “The main recruiters outside of the UK are the Middle East […] we’re talking Emirates, Etihad, Qatar.

“A lot of news commentary has talked about China, I’m not sure how that’s going to pan out. It depends how quickly they expand, but they’ve certainly got the personnel there.”

He concluded that the UK must not see itself as a victim: “Many of these companies recruit worldwide, not just from the UK – sometimes the press looks at it from that perspective.”