'Explicit' film airs to all passengers on Tokyo flight

Passengers aboard a flight to Tokyo last week got more inflight entertainment than they bargained for when an explicit film featuring sex talk and explicit images was broadcast to every screen.

Technical problems meant individual movie selection was not available on a Qantas flight from Sydney to Haneda, leaving the crew to pick one film to be broadcast to the whole cabin.

Their selection of Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn's racy drama "Daddio" was a surprise to many, and to the airline, which apologised Tuesday.

According to one review, the movie features "references to oral sex, masturbation" as well as a "brief but clear photo of erect penis on phone screen. Photos of a woman's naked breasts. Explicit sex-related dialogue and texting".

"The movie was clearly not suitable to play for the whole flight and we sincerely apologise to customers for this experience," a Qantas spokesperson said.

Once the mistake was clear, "all screens were changed to a family-friendly movie for the rest of the flight," Qantas added.

"We are reviewing how the movie was selected."