Australian police charged a man on Tuesday after he allegedly brought explosives on a Malaysia Airlines flight from Sydney to Kuala Lumpur, forcing him to return to Sydney.
The 45-year-old has been charged with making false statements about a threat to damage the aircraft and not following crew safety instructions, the Australian Federal Police said in a press release.
Violations are punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of more than A$15,000 ($9,730).
Flight MH122 left Sydney on Monday afternoon for Malaysia and returned to Sydney about three hours later after passengers were "possibly disruptive" during the flight, police said.
Passengers and crew were evacuated from the plane after it was deemed safe and the man was arrested without incident. He is expected to appear in court on Tuesday.
Police did not specify the man's nationality, but they said he was a resident of Canberra.
Sydney Airport said 32 domestic flights had been canceled and other domestic flights delayed by up to 90 minutes due to the incident. There are no cancellations of international flights.
