They Said Women Couldn’t Fly. Deborah Lawrie Proved Them Wrong.

They Said Women Couldn’t Fly. Deborah Lawrie Proved Them Wrong.

August 19, 2026 · 49 min · Season 7 · Episode 19

About this episode

Deborah Lawrie shares her groundbreaking journey as the first female commercial pilot in Australia.

If you are travelling to Sydney Airport, chances are you might drive over the newly built Deborah Lawrie Flyover. Its namesake is the remarkable Captain Deborah Lawrie, who was the first woman in Australia to become a pilot for a commercial airline, after a ground‑breaking legal battle. Despite being qualified, Deborah Lawrie’s applications to be a pilot were repeatedly rejected due to her gender, but her will to fly and stand up for what is right helped her pave the way for women everywhere. She’s written a remarkable memoir called Touching the Sky, which you can find here: https://www.booktopia.com.au/touching-the-sky-deborah-lawrie/ebook/9781460718599.html?srsltid=AfmBOorKh_e6KQU4bs2A4tO5muqCfjISstM_Qd057JsQOHuRrqyke9E4 Deborah is a trailblazer in every sense of the word, and she’s still flying for Virgin Australia. This is conversation is not to be missed. See if your credit card’s eligible now at  VelocityFrequentFlyer.com You can watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/QTqXIY-HwrA   Follow Jess Rowe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jessjrowe/ And TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@craphousewife   See omnystudio.com/listener…

People in this episode

Host: Jess Rowe

Guest: Deborah Lawrie

Topics covered

Keywords

Sponsors

Velocity Frequent Flyer

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Virgin Australia, Velocity Frequent Flyer

Books & works: Touching the Sky

Places: Sydney Airport

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