Smoke forces Philippine Airlines flight to turn back

Smoke from an air vent forced a Philippine Airlines flight to Japan to turn back just minutes after taking off on Monday, aviation officials said.

"Apparently there was information that the pilot detected smoke in the cabin. So as part of safety measures, the pilot had to return to the ground," said Eric Apolonio, spokesman for the civil aviation authority.

The Airbus A340-300 plane, carrying 222 passengers and 13 crew to Tokyo's Haneda airport, was forced to return to Manila 20 minutes after taking off, an airline statement said.

PAL said there was no panic and the passengers all disembarked safely and would travel to Japan on another aircraft.

The cause of the incident is still being investigated, the airline said.