Veronica Abu Mansur

First Arab woman to earn a pilot's license, breaking gender and cultural barriers in aviation

Veronica Abu Mansur (1918-2005) was a pioneering Egyptian aviator who became the first Arab woman to earn a pilot's license in 1933. Defying societal expectations in interwar Cairo, she joined the Egyptian Air Force as a mechanic before earning her license at age 15. Mansur's 1936 cross-continental flight from Cairo to New York in a single-engine plane made headlines worldwide. She later trained female pilots during WWII and became an aviation instructor at Cairo University. Mansur's legacy endures through the Veronica Flying Club (est. 1947) and her memoir Wings Over Egypt (1952), which chronicles her groundbreaking flights. Her story is featured in the Wikipedia entry and the Egyptian National Aviation Museum's permanent exhibit.