AN airline has reimagined a scene from the film Catch Me If You Can to inspire more girls to become pilots.

In the movie, actor Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Frank Abagnale Jr, impersonates a pilot while being flanked by an entourage of female cabin crew.

But easyJet has released a video featuring a young girl in the role of the pilot, while the cabin crew are played by young boys.

The scene, shot at Southend Airport was recreated as part of easyJet’s campaign to encourage more girls into following a career in aviation.

Glyn Jones, chief executive officer of Southend Airport, said: “We were pleased to work with our colleagues at easyJet on this project and are delighted to see how popular is already proving to be.

“Diversity in aviation is important.

“Whether it be young women developing careers as pilots or, more broadly, a whole range of people considering roles in the industry.

“We are always on the look out for talented individuals and we hope this easyJet campaign will encourage people to take a look at industries and roles which, for whatever reason, they might previously have thought not suitable for them.”

easyJet captain Emily Revie, whose nine-year-old daughter Hannah stars as the pilot, added: “When I was at school, being a pilot was definitely considered a career for the boys.

“I was told to think about what else I could do as a job.

“This misconception isn’t helped by Hollywood producers who have a habit of always putting male actors in the cockpit.

“I’m really pleased to be taking part in an initiative to encourage more girls like Hannah to consider the career.

“I love my job and would recommend it to anyone.”

easyJet carried out the stunt after its recent survey of 556 pilots found that the desire to join the profession generally happens much later for girls than it does for boys.

The Amy Johnson Flying Initiative - named after the flying pioneer - was launched by easyJet in October 2015 to tackle the stereotype that men are more suited to being pilots than women.

The majority of male pilots (55 per cent) knew they wanted to do the job by the age of ten, whereas almost half of female pilots (44 per cent) were more than 16 before they considered the career.

Chris Browne, easyJet’s chief operating officer, said: “It is clear from our research that changing perceptions and ambitions for women starts in school.

“We wanted to create an entertaining but thought-provoking take on this famous movie scene, to inspire more girls to pursue this rewarding career.”

Women make up around just three per cent of commercial airline pilots worldwide.

easyJet has increased the proportion of its new entrant pilots who are women from six per cent in 2015 to 13 per cent last year.

It wants to raise the figure to 20 per cent by 2020.

easyJet chose Southend Airport to film the campaign due to the positive relationship between the airline and the airport, which was rated the best for customer service in London and second best in the country during a recent survey by consumer magazine Which?