A vintage plane with two people on-board has failed to return after a short scenic flight around south Stradbroke Island on Wednesday afternoon.

Police say the plane was privately owned and a search and rescue operation was launched about 3.30pm, co-ordinated by the Australian Marine Safety Authority.

It was believed the Soviet-era Yak-52 aircraft was only meant to be in the air for half-an-hour after departing Southport about 10am.

“AMSA has commenced a search and rescue response for a missing light aircraft in the vicinity of Stradbroke Island, Queensland,” an Australian Marine Safety Authority spokesman said.

“Air Traffic Control contacted AMSA at about 1315 hours to report that the missing plane with two people on board had failed to return after departing Southport airfield on a 30 minute scenic flight at 10am local time.

“The aircraft is a Yak-52, a Soviet-era training aircraft often used for aerobatics and scenic flights,” he said.

“There has been no contact with the missing aircraft and AMSA has tasked aerial assets to conduct a search along the aircraft’s most likely route.”