Sydney, June 25 (AFP): An AirAsia flight to Malaysia was forced back to Australia today because of a technical problem, with one passenger saying the plane was "shaking like a washing machine".

The Airbus A330 from Perth to Kuala Lumpur experienced problems about 90 minutes into the journey.

It landed safely, with Perth airport reporting a "technical issue".

"The pilot identified technical issues, turned around and returned," an airport spokesperson told AFP, adding that emergency crew were put on standby but not needed.

The Malaysian low-cost carrier said that "flight crew are taking precautionary measures to check the aircraft".

It was the second scare involving an Airbus A330 in Australia this month, with a China Eastern plane making an emergency landing in Sydney after a huge hole appeared in one of its engine casings.

The West Australian newspaper cited passengers on Sunday's flight as saying they heard a bang and then the plane started shuddering.

A passenger, Brenton Atkinson, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation the whole plane started shaking, far more than standard turbulence. "It was literally like you were sitting on top of a washing machine. The whole thing was going. We could see the engine out of the window which was really shaking on the wing," he said.