A Malaysia Airlines plane was forced to turn back due to pressure problems inside the aircraft after being in the air for almost an hour, a top aviation watchdog official said on Sunday.

Azharuddin Abdul Rahman, director-general of the department of Civil Aviation, told AFP the plane returned to Kuala Lumpur International Airport because it was unable to maintain the correct pressure inside the aircraft.

"It was not able to maintain the right pressure differential for the comfort of the passengers. It is not a major problem," he said.

Malaysia Airlines officials could not be reached for comment.

The Star Online news site reported that the Tokyo-bound flight was 50 minutes into its journey when it was forced to return to Kuala Lumpur after taking off at 3.50am BST.

Passengers were subsequently transferred to another plane which departed a few hours later, it said.

The Malaysian carrier, which until this year had a good safety record, has been in the spotlight in the past six months after two disasters – the disappearance of flight MH370 on 8 March and the shooting down of flight MH17 on 17 July over rebel-held eastern Ukraine.

The two tragedies killed 537 passengers.