PASSENGERS and crew on a Melbourne-bound Singapore Airlines (SIA) flight got a mid-air scare when the airline received a bomb threat several hours into the journey.

SQ227, a Boeing 747 aircraft carrying 198 passengers and 20 crew, took off from Changi Airport just before 9pm on Wednesday night.

At about midnight, someone rang the SIA call centre, claiming that there was a bomb onboard.

The airline crew did a search but did not find anything and the plane landed safely in Melbourne just after 6am.

The Australian Federal Police which was notified of the bomb threat at about 2.15am, is investigating the matter.

SIA's spokesman Nicholas Ionides said in response to queries from The Straits Times that as a further precaution, checks were also carried out on a subsequent Singapore-Melbourne flight, SQ 237.

He said: 'Both aircraft operating the two flights have since arrived safely in Melbourne where detailed security checks confirmed that the threat was a hoax.

'The safety and security of customers and crew are Singapore Airlines' top priorities and we will cooperate fully with the relevant authorities in their investigations.'