Teenage aviator Zara Rutherford has become the youngest woman to fly around the world solo.

The 19-year-old, who has dual British-Belgian nationality, landed at Kortrijk-Wevelgem Airport in western Belgium on Thursday, completing an epic 41-country journey spanning over 52,000 kilometers (32,300 miles), and broke two Guinness World Records in the process.

“I made it,” Rutherford, who received a rapturous welcome on her arrival, told reporters.

British-Belgian pilot Zara Rutherford, 19, poses before taking off for a round-the-world trip in a light aircraft, in bid to become the youngest to fly solo round-the-world in Wevelgem on August 18, 2021. – Rutherford will fly a Shark ultralight, the worlds fastest light sport aircraf during her circumnavigation, which is set to take her up to three months. – Belgium OUT (Photo by NICOLAS MAETERLINCK / BELGA / AFP) / Belgium OUT (Photo by NICOLAS MAETERLINCK/BELGA/AFP via Getty Images)

Not only has she beaten the record held by American Shaesta Waiz, who was 30 when she circumnavigated the globe unaccompanied in 2017, Rutherford also now holds the title for the first woman to circumnavigate the world in a microlight aircraft.

She is also the first Belgian to fly around the world alone.

However, the teenager’s route to glory hasn’t been without its challenges.

When Rutherford departed on August 18, 2021 in a bespoke Shark ultralight aircraft, she believed her aerial escapade would take about three months.

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