A Moroccan airliner travelling from New York to Casablanca was diverted to Maine after a passenger on board made a bomb threat, a US official said on Friday.

Royal Air Maroc Flight 201 was en route to Morocco when "a passenger made a phone call to a family member and made a statement that included a bomb threat against the aircraft," said Ann Davis, spokeswoman for the Transportation Security Administration.

Davis said she did not have any additional information about the threat.

The plane, which took off on Thursday from New York's John F. Kennedy Airport at 7 p.m. EST/0000 GMT, was diverted to Bangor Airport in Maine. Eighty-two passengers and 10 crew members were on board, Davis said.

The flight landed safely in Bangor at 11:16 p.m. EST/0316 GMT and taxied to a secure area.

Passengers were kept aboard the plane for about 90 minutes, Davis said. Transportation officials were re-screening passengers early Friday morning.

Davis said she did not know if the flight would fly on to Morocco or if passengers would stay in Maine overnight.

The person who made the alleged bomb threat was being questioned by officials on site, Davis said.

(Reuters)