Lotfia Elnadi (; October 29, 1907 – 2002) was an Egyptian aviator. She was the first Egyptian woman as well as the first woman from the Arab world and Africa to earn a pilot's license.
Early life
Lotfia Elnadi was born on 29 October 1907 into an upper-class family in Cairo. After completion of her primary education, it was expected that she would marry, becoming a housewife and mother. Her father, who worked for the government printing office, Matbaa Amiriya, saw no reason for Elnadi to pursue secondary education. Her mother encouraged her to attend the American College with its modern curriculum and focus as a language school.
Elnadi read an article about a flying school which had just opened in Cairo and determined that she would attend, despite her father's objections. Initially she approached a journalist to assist her, but when he refused, she went directly to the director of EgyptAir, Kamal Elwi, asking for assistance. He saw the potential for publicity and agreed to help.alt=Latifa in a plane, 1933.|thumb|Lotfia Elnadi in a plane, 1933.
On 19 December 1933, Elnadi flew in the international race between Cairo and Alexandria. Flying at speeds averaging 100 miles per hour, she steered her single-engine plane to the finish-line before any of the other competitors. She received a prize of £E200 and the congratulations of King Fuad for her attempt. Huda Sha'arawi, a feminist leader, also sent salutations for the inspiration Elnadi provided and then held a fundraising drive to buy Elnadi a plane of her own. Elnadi worked as the secretary general of the Egyptian Aviation Club
Following Elnadi’s example, for around a decade other Egyptian women attended flight training and became pilots. With the coming of the Second World War, no other women pilots trained up to 1945, until Dina-Carole El Sawy became a pilot for EgyptAir. In 1996, a documentary film, Take Off From the Sand, was produced telling her story.
In 2017, a Google Doodle honoured her on International Women's Day.