James Bushe, 31, from Stoke-on-Trent, has completed his training with Loganair and will regularly fly jets from the airline’s base at Glasgow Airport.

He had originally been denied the chance because of his HIV status but a campaign led by the charity HIV Scotland prompted the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to change the rules in the UK.

Mr Bushe, who was diagnosed five years ago, was eventually granted the medical certificate he required to fly.

‘My hope now is that it triggers action not just in the UK but in the rest of Europe.

‘Anyone who has felt restricted by the condition, who is in my situation, can now follow their dreams.

‘The situation was not only discriminatory but utterly devastating to someone whose only wish since childhood was to become an airline pilot.’

Mr Bushe was at first denied the chance to take up a training position as an airline pilot when the CAA said it was bound to follow the rules laid down by the European regulator, the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA).

It stated people living with HIV had to have a Class 1 medical certificate – with an addition called an Operational Multi-crew Limitation (OML) – to become an airline pilot.

The only way to obtain that accreditation would be to already have a commercial flying licence that allowed training as a co-pilot alongside a training captain.

Mr Bushe, who has detailed his journey online using the Twitter pseudonym Pilot Anthony, began learning to fly small aircraft from the age of 15.

He added: ‘Today, someone who is HIV-positive and on successful treatment poses no risk to flight safety and should be treated no differently to a person who is not living with the condition.

‘I’ve decided to forgo my anonymity because I believe it is important that this point is emphasised to everyone – there is no reason in the year 2020 why a person who is HIV-positive should face barriers in any profession.

‘Living with this condition doesn’t threaten my life or my health at all and I cannot pass HIV on to others.

‘I want to put that out there to the millions of people who are living with the same fear and stigma that I was once living with.’

Loganair chief executive Jonathan Hinkles said: ‘HIV is not a bar to employment in other industries and there is no reason why it should be so in aviation.’

The CAA said it was pleased to see Mr Bushe start his career.