Fumes force Fiji Airways flight on way to NZ to turn back

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A passenger plane travelling from Fiji to New Zealand was forced to turn around when its cabin filled with fumes and an oil smell overnight.

The airline, Fiji Airways, said this afternoon the Boeing 737-800 was on its way to Auckland from Nadi.

"This morning at 0017 we had an air turn back on one of our B737-800s ..... due to fumes and oil smell reported in the cabin," Fiji Airways managing director and chief executive Stefan Pichler said.

One person was seen by a doctor when the flight landed.

The aircraft landed safely without incident.

The aircraft is currently in the hangar and our engineers are investigating what may have caused the defect," he said.

Passengers were booked on the next available flight, Mr Pichler said.