Passengers on a British Airways flight from Texas to London said they had to leave their seats in mid-flight when a scorpion was spotted loose on the plane.

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Luke Taylor, 25, said he was on the Austin-London flight when the crew started conducting a search for a loose scorpion on the plane.

It was unclear if the scorpion was a stowaway or had escaped from a container during transit.

"They couldn't find it, and they had to move everyone in that area to empty seats scattered across the plane," Taylor told LBC.

British Airways said no one was injured in the incident.

"The safety of our customers is our highest priority and we're sorry for any concern caused by this highly unusual event," the airline said in a statement.

It was unclear whether the scorpion was located after landing.

Texas is home to 18 types of scorpions. The two most common varieties in the Austin area are the striped bark scorpion and the Texas cave scorpion.