Ep. 172 - Captain Deb Lawrie - first female pilot for a major airline in Australia but not without a fight

Lovefly

Meet Captain Deborah Lawrie AM. This is a very inspiring podcast from a true aviation legend. This is not an episode to be missed. www.lovefly.aero FB - Lovefly Insta - @loveflyhelp YouTube - @loveflyteam #fearofflying #lovefly Intro Music 'Fearless' Daniel King

..In 1979 Deborah was the subject of the first contested equal opportunity anti-discrimination case in Australia. After fighting for more than a year she won the battle against Sir Reginald Ansett in the High Court. She joined Ansett Airlines to become the first female airline pilot for a major airline in Australia and in 1992 published her book ‘Letting Fly’.

After the Pilot’s Dispute in 1989, Deborah relocated to The Netherlands to fly with KLM Cityhopper. She held the position of Flight Safety Manager for 4 years and was the Chief Flight Safety Investigator for 8 years. Deborah was chairman of the European Regions Airlines Association Air Safety Working Group from 1998-2004 and she was a member of the IATA Aircraft Accident Classification Working Group. In 2004 Deborah was part of a team commissioned by The Netherlands, to align the Latvian aviation standards with those of the European Union.

In 2008 Deborah returned to Australia to join Jetstar Airways and was a Captain on the Airbus A320 based in Christchurch. In July of 2012 Deborah joined Tigerair in Sydney where she was an A320 Check and Training Captain until the airline was shut down in 2020. Deborah currently flies the B737 with Virgin Australia.

Deborah was inducted into the Victorian Honor Roll of Women in 2001. She received an award as Master Air Pilot in 2017 and was appointed as a Member (AM) in the General Division of The Order of Australia in June 2019 for significant service to aviation as a commercial pilot, and to women in the profession. She was inducted into the Australian Aviation Hall of Fame in 2022 and in November 2023 Sydney Airport named a flyover that connects the International and Domestic terminals in her honor.