Jetstar apologises to breast-pumping mum

Jetstar apologises to breast-pumping mum

Jetstar has apologised to a Queensland mother who was asked to cover up while expressing breast milk during a flight from Brisbane to Townsville.

Natalie Jane Sawyer complained the budget airline needed to better train their staff after a flight attendant asked if she had a cover on the Monday morning flight.

Ms Sawyer posted on Facebook that she was given a back row to herself to express while passengers were seated and the seatbelt signs were on, but the crew member requested the cover-up as people would soon be visiting the toilets.

While she admitted the attendant asked nicely, the mother-of-three said she was wearing a breast-pumping bra and a shirt was covering her pumps, so she wasn’t exposed.

“It shouldnt (sic) matter anyway if i was covered because legally i have a right to pump anywhere, anytime i want and if i feel the need to cover up i will do so and not because people have to walk down the aisle to the toilet,” she posted.

A Jetstar spokesman said the company attempted to contact Ms Sawyer on Monday afternoon to pass on their apologies.

“We want all mothers to feel welcome and respected when breastfeeding onboard our flights and deeply regret the offence caused by our crew member’s remarks,” the spokesman said.

“We’ll work with our crew and remind them of our breastfeeding policy to prevent this from happening to other mothers.”

Latest News

  • Partner Content

My journey: Before becoming a travel agent I was… a palliative care nurse 

Australind Travel & Cruise, Travellers Choice member Saibra Twigg reveals her life as paediatric nurse then to palliative care before a career leap to travel agent. How did you become a palliative care nurse?  ST I went straight from school in nursing and initially specialised in paediatrics, working at Perth’s Princess Margaret Hospital for Children. […]

Partner Content

by Travel Weekly

Travel Weekly
  • Destinations
  • News

APT Launches 2025 Asia Adventures

APT has launched its Asia Adventures for 2025, including new luxury holidays in India, Sri Lanka and Japan. Five new tours lead guests to the highlights of India, including a seven-night cruise along the rarely travelled Lower Ganges aboard the Ganges Voyager. Further south, Sri Lanka’s greatest destinations are revealed on a new 15-day Land […]

  • Cruise
  • Luxury
  • News

Seabourn announces Western Kimberley Traditional Owners as Godparents of Seabourn Pursuit

Seabourn has named Western Kimberley Traditional Owners, the Wunambal Gaambera, as Godparents of the ultra-luxury purpose-built Seabourn Pursuit. It is the first cruise line to appoint Traditional Owners as godparents of a ship. Seabourn Pursuit embarks on its inaugural season in the Kimberley region this June. The naming ceremony will take place on Seabourn Pursuit’s […]