British budget airline Easy Jet has unveiled a new campaign that challenges stereotypes in the airline industry and also aims to encourage more women to become pilots for the carrier.

The ad, that features kids of Easy Jet employees, spoofs the famous 2002 Leonardo DiCaprio film Catch Me If You Can.

The ad stars nine-year-old Hannah Revie, whose mother Emily is an easyJet pilot, and is called Catch Up If You Can. It shows young Hannah playing the role of a pilot, surrounded by an entourage of young male suitors.

The ad was based on a study of 556 pilots who agreed that there was a great deal of gender stereotyping in the airline industry, namely men were encouraged to become pilots and women air stewards.

The majority of male pilots (55 per cent) knew they wanted to do the job by the age of 10, whereas almost half of female pilots (44 per cent) were over 16 before they considered the career.

For its part, EasyJet has increased the proportion of its new pilots who are female from six per cent in 2015 to 13 per cent in 2017. The aim is to make the figure 20 per cent by 2020.