Ms Burton flew into Dubbo from Sydney on Wednesday morning and while waiting for her connecting Airlink flight to Lightning Ridge she was talking to her office staff on her mobile phone.

She saw people start to get on a plane so she assumed it was hers and so followed them.

Unfortunately this plane was headed back to Sydney, not to the waiting crowd at Lightning Ridge.

It wasn't until 15 minutes into the flight that the flight crew realised the mistake.

Despite Ms Burton's request that the plane be turned around, the flight continued to Sydney and Ms Burton caught another flight to Lightning Ridge and arrived 90 minutes late.

Concerns have been raised about the security risks of such a blunder but Airlink staff said it was more of an embarrassment than a risk.