A Yemeni airport official has confirmed a plane bound for Comoros has crashed into the ocean. Reuters says 150 passengers were aboard the Airbus A310 when it crashed and it is not known if there are any survivors.

The plane was being flown by Yemen's national carrier Air Yemenia and was en route to the Indian Ocean country of Comoros.

A Yemeni airport source said most of the passengers aboard the plane were believed to be Comoros residents returning from vacations or business in Paris.

Air Yemenia is 51 per cent owned by the Yemeni government and 49 per cent owned by the Saudi Arabian government.

CNN reports the stricken plane was en route from Yemen's capital Sanaa to Moroni, the capital of Comoros.