A Tiger Airways plane with 60 people on board has made a priority landing at Melbourne Airport after a strange odour was reported in the cabin.

There were reports of smoke filling the plane’s cabin, however Tiger Airways said the landing was made when “an unusual odour was detected in the cabin on descent”.

Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Darren Chester said Tiger Airways registered an emergency on approach to Melbourne.

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“There were reports that crew members were taken ill,” Mr Chester said in a statement.

“Emergency plans at the airport were immediately activated; the flight was provided priority landing and the flight landed safely around 10am.”

Tiger Airways said the incident involved flight TT511 from Brisbane to Melbourne.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade attended and Ambulance Victoria said four people were assessed by paramedics in response to what was reported to them as a hazmat incident.

“At this stage it doesn’t look like they’ll require further treatment, and won’t be taken hospital,” the spokeswoman said.

Tiger Airways said it was standard procedure for emergency services to be on standby for such incidents.

“Safety is always the airlines first priority and the airline has robust procedures in place to ensure the highest standards of safety are always maintained,” the company spokeswoman said.

Mr Chester said Airservices and Victoria’s emergency services “work seamlessly” to ensure the safety of the passengers and crew.

The plane will undergo an engineers’ assessment in Melbourne and the incident will be investigated by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB).