Biography
Elizabeth O'Donoghue is the senior civil servant responsible for Aviation and Maritime International and Trade at the United Kingdom Department for Transport. She has more than a decade of leadership experience spanning transport policy, strategy, border operations and international affairs.
During her career at the Department for Transport, Elizabeth has held a range of senior roles across aviation and maritime policy. Her responsibilities have included leading work on the Heathrow Expansion Programme, developing policies to support the safe restart of international travel during the coronavirus pandemic, and coordinating the Department’s contribution to Ukraine’s transport recovery and reconstruction efforts.
She has served as UK Director General of Civil Aviation since October 2026.
Elizabeth began her career as an economist and, before she joined the Department for Transport, worked for Network Rail, the owner and operator of Britain’s railway infrastructure.