Qantas has apologised to the family of an eight-year-old boy who was exposed to a hardcore pornographic image while checking a Lions tickets promotion on the airline's Facebook page on Friday morning.

The Sydney boy had been looking through posts on the page on his father's iPad when he came across the image. The father asked not to be named to protect his son.

Apology: An inappropriate image was visible on the Qantas Facebook page for several hours. Credit:Paul Rovere

Qantas confirmed the image was apparently visible on its Facebook page for about seven hours.

It also confirmed being contacted by the family.