The airline said the appointment of Geoffroy reinforced its “continued commitment” to increasing gender diversity in the aviation industry.

Geoffroy, the carrier’s former head of legal and general counsel and chief corporate officer, said one of her “top priorities” was to encourage more women to consider a career as a pilot.

Wizz has announced plans to send female pilots to schools across the UK to act as role models and promote a career in aviation, 

The airline is also offering a “cabin crew to captain” programme, which supports existing onboard staff members to obtain a commercial pilot licence.

Prior to joining Wizz, Geoffroy held senior leadership roles in the legal department of Air France-KLM and served as general counsel at Verlingue Insurance Brokers.

Outgoing managing director Owain Jones will continue as chief supply chain and legal officer.

Geoffroy’s appointment follows Wizz opening two new UK bases at Gatwick and Doncaster Sheffield in the past year – with a fourth hub at Cardiff due to launch next summer.

She said: “There is no doubt the past year has been challenging for the industry, but at Wizz, we have remained focused on nimbly adjusting to changing travel restrictions, quickly rebuilding capacity to meet demand, and taking advantage of new market opportunities.
 
“Looking ahead, we can see there is a huge appetite for travel and the booking trends are very encouraging, which is why we are planning to hire more than 120 cabin crew and pilots in the UK by December 2021, so that we can bring all our UK aircraft back into service by the end of the year.”