A Delta Air Lines flight was forced to return to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport shortly after taking off on Monday morning, following reports of a smoky haze inside the cockpit, according to federal authorities.

Delta Flight 876, en route to Columbia, South Carolina, landed safely after the crew alerted air traffic control to the possible smoke in the flight deck. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) confirmed the incident, noting that an investigation is underway.

The FAA said it's investigating the incident, which came after a Delta plane flipped over last week while crash landing in Toronto, injuring 21 people. And on Saturday, another Delta flight returned to Los Angeles after departing for Sydney, Australia, when smoke was detected in the galley, according to the airline.

Delta released a statement saying 94 passengers were on board the Boeing 717 aircraft departing Atlanta on Monday morning “when a haze inside the aircraft was observed”. It said pilots declared an emergency to get priority handling from air traffic controllers.

Once the plane landed, slides were deployed so that passengers could quickly exit.

Delta spokesperson Samantha Moore Facteau said by email that “EMTs attended to two customers”. Asked if either passenger was transported for medical treatment, Facteau told The Associated Press it would need to contact first responders.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our customers and people,” the airline's statement said, "and we apologise to our customers for the experience”.

AP inputs