AN IRVINE man is jetting off on the journey of a lifetime to raise money for charity.

Stewart Brawley will set off on an expedition to Japan this Thursday to climb the country’s highest mountain - Mount Fuji.

The 20-year-old is one of a group of 15 apprentices from British Airways engineering base at Glasgow Airport taking part in the “apprentice challenge” which see them take on the 12,400ft mountain.

The apprentices have been training for several months for the Mount Fuji challenge and earlier this month completed a practice climb on Ben Lomond, which, at just over 3,000ft is a quarter the height of the extinct Japanese volcano.

The expedition will start with a flight from Glasgow to London Heathrow’s Terminal Five, where the group will connect onto a British Airways long-haul aircraft to Narita Airport in Japan.

After a three-hour road journey, the group, which will be accompanied by experienced runners and climbers from BA staff, will reach the foothills of Mount Fuji.

And after establishing base camp and preparing for what is expected to be an arduous eight-hour climb, the group will set off in the dark on Saturday morning, aiming to reach the summit and have their heads - literally - in the clouds.

Laura Phillips, British Airways community investment co-ordinator, who has organised the challenge and will be part of the group aiming to get to the summit, says that the trip is intended to achieve two important goals.

“First, it is a great opportunity to highlight Flying Start and our partnership with Comic Relief and to raise even more money to add to the remarkable £8.3 million we have raised since the partnership began back in 2010,” she said.

“But secondly, it gives these young men a chance to take part in something exceptional that most of them, before they joined British Airways, would never have had the opportunity to do.” Adrian Gaughan, BA’s team technical fleet manager, who co-ordinates the modern apprenticeship programme, said: “It will be a life-changing experience for Stewart and his colleagues, one that they will never forget, giving them an invaluable insight into working as a team and aiming high – in this case the 12,400ft summit of Mount Fuji.

“Stewart and the other lads have put their heart and soul into the effort and I’m sure he will excel in his efforts to achieve his goal, both on this challenge and in his career with British Airways as he works towards being one of British Airways’ “Engineers of the Future.”