According to the national carrier, this was because flight MH104 headed to Bangalore had a technical issue that needed to be looked into immediately.

“In the interest of passenger safety, the flight captain decided to return to KLIA and the aircraft landed uneventfully at 2.10pm.

“Safety is MAS’ number one priority at all times,” it said in a statement.

The Sun Online reported that 60 Malaysian delegates from PKR, DAP and MIC were in the plane.

They were headed to Bangalore for India’s annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-Resident India Day) Conference which begins from tomorrow and lasts until next Monday.

Deputy Youth and Sports Minister M Saravanan, Bukit Gasing assemblyman Rajiv Rishyakaran and PKR vice-president Dr Xavier Jayakumar were among those on board.

“All passengers and crew safely disembarked and MH104 resumed on another aircraft which departed at 4.15pm today, expected to arrive in Bangalore at 5.30pm,” MAS’ communications team added.