The body of a newborn baby has been discovered in the toilet of a plane in Indonesia.

The discovery was made by cleaners on a Qatar Airways flight after its arrival at the international airport serving the Indonesian capital Jakarta.

A female passenger, believed to be an Indonesian national who was working in Doha, was taken for a medical check-up before being transferred to a police hospital in East Jakarta for further tests.

Officials did not say what relationship the woman had to the baby and it is as yet unclear whether she will face criminal charges.

"If the results of the doctor's examination shows she is fit for questioning, then she will be brought to the airport police to answer inquiries, and account for her (alleged) actions," Airport police spokesman Endang Sutrisna told AFP.

Sutrisna said the baby is believed to have been between five and seven months old.