The UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) denied today rumours of an attempted hijack of a flydubai plane passing through Iranian airspace, said a report.

Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of the GCAA, said that flydubai flight FZ301, which was heading from Dubai to Kabul, was forced to make a U-turn following an incident with an 'unruly passenger', a report in WAM cited him as saying.

The incident, however, was not a hijack attempt, he said.

"The accidental incident happened as a result of a behaviour of one of the passengers who was detained by the competent authorities upon the arrival of the plane to the airport," Al Suwaidi said.

The flight then resumed its course and left Dubai International Airport at 08:31 am, the report said.