A China Airlines flight bound for Sydney was delayed by three hours following a hoax bomb threat over the weekend.

At 10.35pm the Civil Aeronautics Administration was told via telephone that China Airlines flight CI051, due to depart for Sydney at 11.55pm, had explosives on board, asiaone reported.

China Airlines (CI) and aviation police were notified and the flight, carrying 287 passengers and 16 crew members, was delayed until 2.46am as the airline undertook extensive safety examinations.

No explosives were found and the flight was permitted to take off, landing in Sydney on Sunday afternoon.

This was the fourth hoax this year targeting the airline, CI officials told the news site.