A brawl between two passengers over keeping their luggage in the overhead cabin delayed a Malaysia-bound plane by more than two hours as one of them shouted "bomb" during the fight, setting off a thorough security check, officials said on Friday.

Enforcement agencies were alerted about the "bomb" threat from the Malaysia Airlines's MH173 around 1 pm after which the Central Industrial Security Force inspected the flight, the officials said.

The aircraft finally departed for Kuala Lumpur after a delay of two hours and 40 minutes and four passengers allegedly involved in the incident were handed over to the local police, they said.

"A fight broke out between two passengers over keeping their bags in the overhead cabin of the aircraft. When one passenger asked the other what was in his bag, the other replied 'bomb'. The flight was then grounded as the pilot was informed about it and the pilot intimated the ATC (air traffic controller)," an official source told PTI.

"A bomb threat assessment committee immediately probed the matter and the flight was put through checks after which the bomb call was declared a hoax," the source said.

A total of four passengers - all Indians - were handed over to the police, they added.

The passenger who made the bomb claim wad identified as Varindar Sidhu, according to sources.