An AirAsia flight has turned back after facing technical problems, according to Berita Harian .

The Langkawi-bound flight from Penang took off at around 4.30pm and was due to arrive at 5.05pm.

However, the report quoted a passenger as saying that Flight AK6242 made a turnback some 10 minutes into the flight.

E Subash, the passenger, said the captain informed them that there was a technical problem.

According to flight tracker portal FlightAware, the aircraft was about halfway through to Langkawi before circling south of the island and turning back to the Penang International Airport.

The report noted that the flight has since been rescheduled and took off at around 6pm.

The same flight tracker portal showed the aircraft having landed safely in Langkawi at 6.44pm.

String of air disasters

Air turnbacks are not uncommon in commercial air travel, but a string of air disasters has created jitters among travellers.

AirAsia Flight QZ8501 - which was bound for Singapore from Surabaya, Indonesia - lost contact with air traffic control this morning.

At writing time, the aircraft with 162 passengers and crew on board has yet to be found.

Indonesian authorities have deployed assets to the vicinity of Pulau Belitung in between Singapore and Sumatra to verify unconfirmed reports that the aircraft had crashed there.

The aircraft belongs to AirAsia Indonesia, though its parent company is Malaysian.

The lost of the aircraft follows twin disasters involving Malaysia Airlines (MAS).

MAS' Flight MH370 - bound for Beijing from Kuala Lumpur - disappeared without a trace in March and is believed to have crashed in the Indian Ocean after drastically deviating from its path for unknown reasons.

To date, the wreckage has yet to be found.

In July, MAS' Flight MH17 - bound for Kuala Lumpur from Amsterdam - was shot down over Ukranian airspace as Russia-backed rebels battle government forces in the region.