A United Airlines plane heading to Los Angeles from Chicago had to be rerouted when an emergency slide inflated inside the aircraft during the flight.

Nobody was injured and the Boeing 737 jet landed safely in Wichita, Kansas, on Sunday night, the airline said in a statement.

The plane was carrying 96 passengers and five crew members.

Passenger Diane Mondini said she heard a bang and a hiss and then saw what she described as a panic look among crew.

Another passenger, Mike Schroeder, who was flying home to California, told local station KWCH-TV "We've been flying for years, I've never seen this before".

CBS news - citing Flight Aware - reported that the plane was flying at 38,000 feet and dropped significantly due to a loss in cabin pressure.

"The flight diverted to Wichita, Kansas, after the emergency evacuation slide accidentally deployed" the airline's statement said.

"We are flying in another aircraft to resume the flight and get our customers to their final destination as quickly as possible".