SINGAPORE - A Tigerair flight from Taipei to Singapore was diverted to Ho Chi Minh on Friday (Jan 6) due to a burning smell in the cabin.

Flight TR2993 took off from Taipei at 1.55pm and was scheduled to land in Singapore at 6.55pm. It had 163 passengers on board.

It landed in Tan Son Nhat International at 4.48pm, according to Internet flight tracking service FlightAware.

The aircraft has since been grounded for investigation and maintenance by engineers after a burning smell was detected in the cabin, Tigerair said in a statement late on Friday night.

"We have deployed a ferry flight to bring guests back to Singapore from Ho Chin Minh City in the early morning of Jan 7 (Saturday). Refreshments have been provided to the affected guests in Ho Chi Minh City," the statement said.

"We would like to clarify that there was no fire in the aircraft and the incident was not caused by an engine issue."

Passenger Mr Chua Heng Tiong, 54, said he was quite scared as the plane shook a lot at one point.

They were then told that they would land in Ho Chi Minh.

Facebook user Tanya Wilson told ST that passengers detected a burning smell at the front of the aircraft.

Mr Chua, who is self-employed, sent a video of the pilot briefing passengers on the situation on the plane.

"They are going to have a very good look at the aeroplane before they allow it to fly again," the pilot says in the video.

"The idea is to get you back to Singapore as safely as possible," he added.

It is understood that the passengers are still waiting at the airport and cannot leave the transit lounge.