An Air New Zealand passenger plane has been forced to make an emergency landing in Auckland following a bird strike on its engine.

Some 210 passengers were on board the aircraft during the incident, which saw the left-hand engine of the Boeing 767 burst into flames during the descent.

Passengers reported hearing loud bangs and saw flames shortly after take off.

The plane was heading to Perth in Australia.

Air New Zealand statement as saying the captain of the flight had shut down the left-hand engine and briefed the passengers on board.

The pilot is believed to have explained “any flames seen from the engine is not unusual when it is shut down in flight”.

The airline said there appeared to be no visible damage to the engine.

Passengers on the Auckland to Perth flight had been taken to Auckland’s Sky City Hotel before departing on a replacement flight at 01:00 tomorrow.