From correspondents in Kanto, Japan, 05:32 PM IST

An Air China flight headed for Chongqing in southern China was forced to return to a Japanese airport Friday after receiving a bomb threat, media reports said.

The airline's Japan office reportedly received an e-mail threatening to blow up the aircraft, which left Japan's Chubu International Airport in Nagoya in the afternoon.

The e-mail, which ordered that the flight be suspended, indicated that it was intended to disrupt the Beijing Olympics, scheduled to open Friday evening, the Kyodo News Agency quoted Japanese transport ministry officials as saying.

(Staff Writer, © IANS)