Passengers returned to Orange Regional Airport and board Fly Corporate flight to Melbourne. Airline offers passengers snacks and apologies for the delay.

UPDATE: 1.30pm

Passengers aboard a Sydney-bound bus have been told the bus will now return to Orange to enable them to catch their cancelled flight to Melbourne.

The Fly Corporate passengers were headed for Bankstown, where they were due to meet up with their plane to head south later on Friday.

However the driver received news outside Bathurst, as he approached the Blue Mountains, that the plane had now landed in Orange and was waiting for the passengers to return.

Passengers are expected to fly out of Orange early this afternoon.

UPDATE: 11.34am

All commercial flights in or out of Orange Regional Airport are on-hold due to the dense smoke haze affecting the region on Friday.

A statement from Orange City Council indicated conditions are being monitored and will be reviewed if the haze lifts, but as it stands no flights will be operating in the early afternoon.

Other regional airports are also affected by the hazy conditions.

Melbourne-bound Fly Corporate passengers are on a bus headed for Bankstown, where they'll meet up with their plane to head south later on Friday.

UPDATE: 10.44am

A Fly Corporate plane hoping to pick up Melbourne-bound passengers at the Orange Regional Airport has been forced to return to Bankstown Airport after efforts to land the plane in Orange failed.

A large smoke haze lingering over the Central West greatly reduced visibility and the poor air quality made landing the plane in Orange impossible.

Low on fuel, the plane returned to western Sydney and passengers are expected to be put on a bus to Bankstown, where they will fly out out of later on Friday.

The Rex flight bound for Sydney took off from the Orange airport at about 11am.

EARLIER:

The worst air quality the region has experienced this week has caused multiple flights at the Orange Regional Airport to be delayed on Friday morning.

Passengers on a 10am REX flight to Sydney and a 9.45am Fly Corporate flight to Melbourne are being told there may be delays with a blanket of smoke covering the airport.

The Fly Corporate flight to Melbourne has twice attempted to land at the airport but the conditions are making the runway approach difficult.

Passengers booked to fly to Sydney and Melbourne are being told they may be bused to Bathurst airport with an announcement expected shortly.

The Air Quality Index on the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment (DPIE) website had Orange's rating at an incredible 1588, nearly eight times over the base hazardous mark of 200.