Karmactive Staff
Virgin Australia has apologized to a Gold Coast doctor who was asked to leave the airline’s Melbourne Airport business lounge while pumping breast milk. Dr. Elise Turner, a women’s health GP and mother of six-month-old twins, shared her experience on social media, sparking widespread criticism of the airline.
Turner, a paying business-class passenger, was stopping over in Melbourne on her return from a medical conference in Perth when the incident occurred. While discreetly pumping breast milk under her shirt, she was approached by a staff member who told her to leave the lounge or use a public bathroom instead.
“I was basically grovelling and promising that you can’t see anything,” Turner said in her social media post. “I had to show her how [the breast pump] goes under my shirt and I promise nobody is going to be able to see a nipple.”
Turner attempted to inform the staff member that breastfeeding and expressing milk are protected under Australia’s Sex Discrimination Act 1984, which makes it illegal to discriminate against women for these activities. Despite this, Turner alleges the staff member told her she was making others “uncomfortable” and asked her to leave.
“This is 2025, and this is the sort of treatment that lactating mothers are expected to deal with,” Turner said in her post, describing the experience as “unbelievable” and leaving her “beyond furious.”
Virgin Australia acknowledged the incident in a statement: “We are sorry for the way this situation was handled. It fell short of the high standards of care and customer service our team strives to deliver. We have reached out to our guest today to apologize directly.”
Similar Posts
The airline confirmed it had followed up with the staff member involved, and Virgin’s Chief Marketing Officer Libby Minogue later appeared on television to reinforce that mothers are welcome to pump and breastfeed in their lounges.
Victoria Marshall-Cerins, executive officer at the Australian Breastfeeding Association, expressed disappointment that women continue to face such experiences.
“Women have the right to breastfeed and express in public places, wherever they are lawfully able to be, whether that is a shopping centre or a theatre or the business lounge at an airport,” Marshall-Cerins said.
She highlighted that obstacles like this contribute to women stopping breastfeeding before reaching their goals, despite the majority of pregnant women in Australia wanting to breastfeed.
“When we put obstacles in the way of women being able to achieve their breastfeeding goals, we are excluding them. We are making what is already an activity that requires a lot of time and a lot of commitment even more difficult,” she added.
In response to the incident, Melbourne-born intimates brand Nala displayed a billboard truck outside Sydney Airport’s Virgin terminal reading: “It’s just a boob. It’s 2025. It’s time to get comfortable.”
Nala co-founder Chloe de Winter, who recently breastfed her own baby, said she was “disgusted” and “appalled” by Turner’s experience and wanted to support her.
Melbourne Airport confirmed there are no restrictions on women breastfeeding or pumping milk in the airport. “We’re an airport where everyone should feel welcome,” a spokesperson said, noting that several parenting rooms with comfortable spaces for breastfeeding are available across the terminals.
Under the Sex Discrimination Act 1984, fines for discriminating against women who are breastfeeding or expressing milk can exceed $30,000.
