Passengers on a Virgin Australia flight from Melbourne to Perth faced moments of alarm after the aircraft reported an engine issue shortly after takeoff.

The flight, which departed from Tullamarine Airport at around 6:05pm on Monday, was forced to make an urgent decision midair.

Crew members identified a technical problem and initiated a sharp U-turn back toward Melbourne.

The aircraft safely returned to Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport without further incident.

All passengers and crew were reported safe following the emergency landing, while investigations into the engine issue are expected.