An American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Bermuda was forced to turn back mid-flight owing to an odour in the cabin.

News service Yahoo!News reported that the American Airlines flight from Charlotte Douglas International Airport had landed back safely at the airport on Sunday.

The airline said: “American Airlines flight 2044 with service from Charlotte to Bermuda returned to Charlotte due to a reported odour in the cabin. The aircraft landed safely and without incident.

“Our maintenance team will inspect the aircraft and customers have boarded a replacement aircraft for Bermuda. We never want to disrupt our customers’ travel plans and apologise for the inconvenience.”

The Yahoo!News report said there were concerns about a fuel leak but that airport officials said the incident did not disrupt service on any runways.

American Airlines did not respond to questions by press time.