Passengers were evacuated from a Ryanair flight at Brindisi in southern Italy shortly before takeoff on Thursday morning after fumes were seen outside of the plane.

Italian media said 184 passengers had been on board the flight and that firefighters were called out to attend to the incident.

"Flight FR8826 from Brindisi to Turin was delayed this morning after cabin crew observed fumes on the outside of the aircraft," Ryanair said in a statement. "Passengers were disembarked without incident and returned to the terminal by bus."

Brindisi airport, in the southeastern region of Puglia, was closed for a time after the incident but operator Aeroporti di Puglia said it had reopened by late morning.

Ryanair said it planned to use a spare aircraft to fly the passengers to Turin later on Thursday.