15 hours ago
Ayrshire Ryanair pilot retires in style after final flight at Prestwick
Airline pilot, Duncan Munro, aged 60, retired this week from the captain's chair after decades of faithful service to Ryanair.
A high flyer who safely delivered countless numbers of air passengers to sun-kissed destinations in Spain and elsewhere has hung up his captain's hat.
Airline pilot, Duncan Munro, aged 60, retired this week from the captain's chair after decades of faithful service to Ryanair.
Duncan, from Alloway, has flown in and out of Prestwick Airport for more than 20 years, his most regular route being the run to Malaga and back.
But on Thursday, June 26, he took charge of his final Boeing 737 flight back from Spain, as he prepares to settle into a more 'grounded' lifestyle.
And Duncan got the perfect welcome back as he touched down on the Prestwick tarmac - a water canon salute from his ground colleagues.
Proud dad Harry said: 'Duncan's last day at work was Thursday, June 26 and he landed from Malaga early afternoon.
'On June 20, 2001, the Ayrshire Post actually published an article about my son who had just been engaged as a pilot for Ryanair, operating from Prestwick Airport.
'He is now about to retire and his last flight was 26 June, landing at Prestwick.
'Duncan rose through the ranks of Ryanair to captain, training captain and base commander at both Glasgow and Edinburgh. He also had a spell with Norwegian Air flying transatlantic.
'He was also a simulator instructor at Gatwick. In addition, he maintains his RAF connection in Glasgow.'
Former Belmont Academy pupil Duncan took his first steps on his fascinating career journey when he studied General Science at Strathclyde University in 1982.
Duncan then joined the RAF, rising to officer in the RAF Regiment and taking his Masters Degree at Glasgow University.
A career in computing then followed, which led him to London and Singapore - before he gained his commercial pilot's licence.
Duncan eventually progressed to captain one of the Ryanair fleet - and he's been loving his job ever since.
And in a pleasant surprise to Duncan, wife Jane and son Fergus, flew out to Malaga on Wednesday - so they could enjoy his last flight home from Spain the following day.
Fergus said: 'It all went really well. I gave him a call before we got on the flight home and asked him if he'd welcome us on as VIP's!
'It was definitely an emotional day and I think it only hit him when we landed and he was carrying out his final shutdown. Then he realised it was all over.'
Duncan's life in aviation isn't quite over however; he's going to be the Deputy Chief Flying Instructor at Acron, based at Gatwick, where he'll put the next generation of airline pilots through their paces in their state-of-the-art flight simulators.
Duncan's career timeline
* Hired by Ryanair in 2001, initially based at Prestwick
* Promoted to Captain in 2002 and based in Stansted, then moved to be based back at Prestwick after 6 months
* Logged approximately 14,000 hours as Captain and 3,200 hours as First Officer (about 18,000 in total from start of career to the end)
* Flew over 10,000 sectors
* Became a Line Training Captain in summer 2004
* Qualified as a Type Rating Instructor in 2006
* Flew Air Experience Flights with Air Cadets from 2007 to 2022 as part of an Air Squadron
* Appointed Base Captain at Edinburgh in November 2008
* Became Base Captain at Glasgow in December 2014
* Flew transatlantic routes for Norwegian in August 2017
* Returned to Ryanair as a line pilot in Edinburgh in February 2019
* Will become Deputy Chief Flying Instructor at L3Harris (Acron) in August 2025
* Intends to complete A320 and A330 type ratings
* Retired after his final flight from Málaga to Prestwick, which was marked with a water cannon salute.
