How Deb Lawrie blazed the trail for equal flights

In the 1970s, a young pilot called Deborah Lawrie did something nobody had thought possible: took on the might of Ansett, at the time one of Australia's two big airlines, all the way to the High Court – and won. Her goal? To overturn Sir Reginald Ansett's long-standing ban on women in the cockpit and become Australia's first female commercial airline pilot. Her landmark case – and her incredible subsequent career – paved the way for female aviators after her to make their mark on Australian skies. Now working for Virgin Australia, Deb is the oldest and longest-serving female pilot at any commercial airline in the world, and has just released a new memoir, Touching the Sky, recounting her fight against Ansett and what came next. On this week's Australian Aviation Podcast, Deb sits down with Jake to discuss how she caught the flying bug at an early age, how she took down the aviation titan that was Sir Reg Ansett, and the highs and lows of more than four decades of flying.

You can listen to How Deb Lawrie blazed the trail for equal flights online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

How Deb Lawrie blazed the trail for equal flights is an episode from Australian Aviation Podcast Network by Momentum Media.

This episode is 48:57 long.

This episode was published on May 6, 2026.

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