A Malindo Air flight to Indonesia was delayed at the Malacca International Airport after a couple mentioned the word "bomb" in their conversation.

In the 10.45am incident, a Malindo Air employee stationed at the registration counter overheard their conversation and alerted the authorities.

Due to this, the flight which was scheduled to depart at 12.15pm was delayed for two hours in order for checks to be conducted.

Melaka Tengah district police chief Shaikh Abdul Adzis Shaikh said a forensic team and a bomb disposal unit were dispatched to the scene.

The teams checked the luggage of the passengers and did not find anything dangerous or suspicious.

"After questioning a witness, it was found that the incident was a result of a misunderstanding and did not involve a bomb threat," he was quoted as saying by Utusan Online.

"The incident was stemmed from a communication problem between the passengers and staff at the airport," he added.

After being given the green light, the Malindo Air flight with 38 passengers was cleared for take off at 2.10pm.

The passengers who were detained to facilitate investigations were later allowed to board another flight to Pekanbaru, Indonesia.