A female pilot had a passenger removed from a flight in Brazil after he embarked on a sexist rant about not wanting to fly with a woman at the helm.

The man, who was aboard a Trip Airlines flight from the city of Belo Horizonte, reportedly stood up just before the plane was due to take off and shouted, "Someone should have told me the captain was a woman. I'm not flying with a female at the controls."

The airline said the pilot then ejected the unnamed passenger, who was escorted out of the airport by police. It is not known whether he faced charges.

The plane continued on its journey after a one-hour delay.

Trip Airlines said it would not tolerate any disparaging remarks against any of its 1,400 female employees.

Stylist magazine recently reported on the changing landscape of gender relations in Brazil under the leadership of the country's first female president, Dilma Rousseff.

The government has prioritised tackling misogynistic attitudes in Brazilian society and recently banned a seductive underwear ad starring Gisele Bündchen for “ignoring the major advances we have achieved in deconstructing sexist practices and thinking.”

Rousseff has personally pledged to fight for equality, saying, “I would like parents who have daughters to look straight in their eyes and tell them, ‘Yes, a woman can.’”

Plane stupid: Female pilot throws sexist passenger off flight