Image copyright AFP Image caption Jetstar apologised and said it would reprimand the crew member

Australia's Jetstar has apologised after an attendant on a Sydney-bound flight warned passengers to flush their drugs down the toilet before landing.

The attendant reportedly said sniffer dogs and inspectors were waiting, and told passengers to flush "anything you shouldn't have".

Some people were returning from a music festival and the warning reportedly sparked a rush to the toilets.

Jetstar said that the crew member had acted unprofessionally.

The Jetstar flight was travelling from the Gold Coast. Many of the passengers were reportedly returning from the music festival Splendour in The Grass which is held near tourist spot Byron Bay.

One passenger told Sydney newspaper The Daily Telegraph that several people suddenly got up to queue for the toilet.

Jetstar said that it was required to play a pre-recorded announcement on domestic flights about Australia's strict quarantine regulations, which prevent some plant and fruit materials being transported between states.

But it also allowed cabin crew to deliver the message as well, and on this occasion "the crew member's words were poorly chosen and are plainly at odds with the professional standards we'd expect from our team," it said.

It said it would reprimand the crew member.

Some, however, have taken to Jetstar's Facebook page to urge the company to be lenient to the flight attendant, with one praising a "fair dinkum true blue Aussie flight attendant".

Another said: "Promote that person."