Nepal has put its international airport on high alert following warnings from India that al-Qaida-linked militants plan to hijack a plane in the South Asian region, officials said Tuesday.

India issued a terror alert at all its airports last week after the government received reports about a possible attack.

Nepal's Home Ministry spokesman Mukunda Khanal said the police and army at Katmandu's Tribhuwan International Airport have been ordered on high alert and to take extra measures. Officials at the airport would not give any details of the measures.

Passengers have been advised to allow extra time to pass through security.

The airport has only a few x-ray machines and police normally check bags manually.

Nepalese authorities have been cautious since Islamic militants hijacked an Indian Airlines flight flying from Katmandu to Kandahar in southern Afghanistan in December 1999.

The hijacking ended when India released four Islamic militants in exchange for 167 passengers and crew.