A flaw in an in-flight entertainment system used by major airlines including Emirates, Virgin and Qatar could let hackers access a planes' controls.

The security hole in the Panasonic Avionics in-flight system is used in planes run by 13 major airlines and could put passengers' information and safety at risk, as well as disrupting their flight experience, according to researchers at IOActive. Panasonic denied that is is possible to inflict such damage through its systems.

Exploiting the problem, researcher Ruben Santamarta said hackers could "hijack" in-flight displays to change information such as altitude and location, control the cabin lighting and hack into the announcements system.

"Chained together this could be an unsettling experience for passengers," said Santamarta, principal security consultant at IOActive who was behind the discovery.