A Qantas flight from Sydney to Perth had to make an emergency landing in Adelaide after a warning light indicated smoke in the cargo hold.

A Qantas spokeswoman said engineers had since checked the aircraft and found no signs of smoke.

However, their investigations will continue until they can determine the cause of the emergency warning.

The Airbus A330 was carrying 253 passengers when it diverted to Adelaide Airport and landed without incident.

“The flight deck received a warning light indicating a technical issue, so as a safety precaution the pilots made the decision to divert to Adelaide,” the airline said in a statement.

Among those on board the plane were members of the Central Coast Mariners A-League team, heading to Perth for Saturday’s match against the Perth Glory.

The club tweeted about the unscheduled stopover, praising the airline’s handling of the incident.

“Diversion to Adelaide but all is well. Team safe the main thing,” the club said.

The airline spokeswoman said the Mariners, along with some other passengers, had since boarded an alternative flight to Perth.

Those unable to be accommodated on direct flights from Adelaide may be forced to travel through Melbourne or Sydney.

Qantas said it hoped to have all passengers in Perth by Friday night.

One passenger, identified as Dave, said the incident was handled well by the crew.

“Everything went pretty smooth,” he told ABC Radio.

“The pilot said he thought it was just a false alarm but for safety they had to bring the plane back and evacuate everybody.

“The pilot did a great job and the flight attendants did a really good job keeping everybody under control.