MIAMI (AFP) - An American Airlines flight was diverted to Kingston due to a "pressurisation issue" during its Bogota-to-Miami trip, the airline said.

Flight 916, a Boeing 767 plane carrying 197 passengers and nine crew, "landed safely without incident" in the Jamaican capital, American Airlines spokesman Casey Norton told AFP. The plane was expected to continue to Miami "as soon as possible", American Airlines said on its Twitter feed.

"It was due a pressurisation issue," Mr Norton explained, declining to provide more details until technicians had examined the plane. "Once maintenance has a look at it, then we will determine how best to accommodate the passengers to get them to Miami."

The aircraft left Bogota at 4.03pm and arrived in Kingston 2.5 hours later, according to the American Airlines website. It was slated to leave Kingston at 10.15 pm, bound for Miami.