A mother pumping breast milk on a Jetstar flight to Townsville has received an apology from the carrier after staff asked her to “cover up”.

Flying from Brisbane to Townsville, Natalie Jane Sawyer said she started pumping after take off with the aim of finishing before the seat belt sign was turned off and passengers began walking around the cabin.

But, a flight attendant saw Ms Sawyer pumping and requested that she “cover up”, as passengers would soon be walking by, she claimed.

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“I had a pumping bra on so no part of my boobs could be seen and a shirt covering my pumps,” she told the Brisbane Times.

Ms Sawyer took to social media to air her concerns about the airline. Photo: Twitter/Facebook/Natalie Jane Sawyer

“I personally dont (sic) have a problem with pumping in public, when you exclusively pump for 3 kids, you get used to it, but i (sic) know some people get a bit weirded out sitting right next to someone pumping so i am considerate.”

The mother said she had informed a baggage attendant she would be pumping on the flight, and they had given her an entire row to herself.

Posting an image of herself pumping milk on Facebook, Ms Sawyer suggested Jetstar consider “retaining” its staff in the rights of breastfeeding mothers.

A Jetstar spokesperson told the newspaper it had attempted to apologise to the mother after seeing the post.

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

“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.”