Captain Deborah Lawrie AM

Captain Deborah Lawrie AM's Biography

Captain Deborah Lawrie AM has been in the aviation industry since 1969 and is a current airline pilot with 40 years experience. She graduated with a BSc from Melbourne University in 1974 and later completed a Bachelor of Education at Rusden State College and a Diploma of Transport and Distribution at RMIT. In 1998 Deborah graduated from the Cranfield University of Aircraft Accident Investigation.

In 1979 Deborah was the centre of the first contested equal opportunity anti-discrimination case in Australia. The high profile case was front page news for over a year, and was a lightning rod for the women’s movement at the time. The case was fought all the way to the High Court and after winning the battle against Sir Reginal Ansett, she joined Ansett Airlines to become the first female airline pilot for a major airline in Australia. Deborah’s autobiography ‘Letting Fly’ was published in 1992.

After the 1989 pilot’s dispute Deborah joined KLM cityhopper in The Netherlands. She was a Training Captain on the Fokker 50 for 4 years and later flew the Fokker 70 / 100. In 1999 Deborah established the company’s Flight Safety Department. 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 was a member of the IATA Aircraft Accident Classification Working Group. In 2005 she transferred to KLM mainline where she flew internationally as a Captain on the Airbus A330 for more than 3 years.

In 2008 Deborah returned to Australia and joined Jetstar Airways as the Manager of Safety Investigations and then as an Airbus A320 Captain in New Zealand.  In July of 2012 Deborah joined Tigerair and is currently a senior A320 Check and Training Captain based in Sydney. Deborah continues to conduct human factors training and safety investigation training. She is a member of The National Foundation of Australian Air Force Cadets.

Deborah was inducted to the Victorian Role of Honour for Women in 2001. She became a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society in 2017 and was recognised as a Master Air Pilot by the Honourable Company of Air Pilots in 2017. In 2019 Deborah was inducted as a member of the General Division of the Order of Australia for significant service to aviation and to women in the profession.