Didier Daurat (January 2, 1891, Montreuil-sous-Bois – December 2, 1969, Toulouse) was an early leader in French aviation. During World War I, he served as a fighter pilot and was recognized for identifying the Paris Gun, a weapon that attacked Paris. After the war, he worked for an airline that later became Compagnie générale aéropostale (Aéropostale), then Air France. He worked as a pilot and later became an operations director.
Daurat was known for his strong leadership. He was respected by many, feared by others, and disliked by some. He often dismissed employees who showed weakness or disagreed with his strict work rules, which emphasized dedication and discipline.
Many of his pilots started as mechanics, learning to repair and maintain aircraft engines. Daurat believed this work helped pilots understand and respect their machines. However, he also recognized talent. When Jean Mermoz arrived in Toulouse and demonstrated exceptional flying skills, Daurat said, "I don’t need circus artists, but bus drivers." (Je n’ai pas besoin d’artistes de cirque mais de conducteurs d’autobus.) Despite this, Daurat hired Mermoz to clean engines.
Daurat’s strict methods helped Aéropostale achieve uncommon levels of on-time performance and reliability on routes such as Toulouse to Saint-Louis-du-Sénégal and later Toulouse to Santiago, Chile, which required flying across the South Atlantic and the Andes.
In 1933, when Aéropostale merged with Air France, Daurat was fired. In 1935, he founded Air Bleu, a company that delivered mail across France during the day and night. His work was successful, but the company was taken over by the military when war began in 1939.
After France was freed from German occupation, Daurat restarted the night mail service and later became operations chief for Air France at Orly Airport until his retirement in 1953. He died in Toulouse in 1969. As requested, he was buried at Toulouse-Montaudran Airport, the former base of Aéropostale.
Author Antoine de Saint-Exupéry was inspired by Daurat when creating the character of Rivière in his book Night Flight (Vol de nuit, 1931).