An Investigation has been launched after a baby was smuggled inside a woman's hand luggage on an Air France flight.

Passengers on flight AF1891 from Istanbul to Paris were shocked when they discovered the two-year-old moving inside the bag.

The hidden child 'did not have a ticket', Planet.fr reports.

Cabin crew were quickly alerted and escorted the woman and the baby to the front of the Airbus 319.

The flight from Ataturk Airport in Turkey was mid-way through its journey to Charles de Gaulle Airport when the baby was found.

A witness told Planet.fr: "The cloth bag belonged to a woman sitting at the back.

"At one point, she wanted to open it and somebody on the neighbouring row of seats saw that something was moving inside."

The passenger was said to be 'very shocked'.

A spokesman for Air France confirmed the child was travelling 'without a ticket'.

He added the ariline requested "the presence of French authorities on the flight's arrival" to deal with the matter.