Police confirmed several phone calls announcing a bomb on-board domestic flight TP1900 were received, triggering an emergency response plan.
The security level at the airport was temporarily raised from yellow to orange, the second highest on a three-level scale.
PJ Police Director Mota Carmo told journalists at the airport earlier that morning that a procedural response was launched and a search of the aircraft conducted.
No suspicious devices were found onboard the Airbus A319 and police later confirmed the incident as a hoax.
In a statement sent to The Portugal News, PJ police said a local man had been taken into custody. While the motive remains unclear, it is believed the hoax was the result of a prank call.
The man, who police said was “retired” was reportedly questioned for three hours before being released on bail.
Just recently emergency services at Faro airport rehearsed the drill for such situations after staging a simulation, “and the airport is in top shape to respond to such incidents”, the police spokesperson said.
The original TAP flight was cancelled but its passengers continued their journey on a later flight, TAP flight 1908, at 11.20am.
TAP flight 1900 departs Faro every day at 6.05am for the 30-minute flight to the Portuguese capital.
A spokesperson for the flag-carrier confirmed the bomb hoax involved one of the company’s planes and told The Portugal News “everything ran smoothly and the aircraft was thoroughly inspected by the competent authorities, fulfilling all the usual safety procedures in these situations, and the plane was given the OK. With the situation resolved it was deemed a false alarm.”
A spokesperson for national airport management company ANA said the incident had no knock-on effects and no other cancellations or delays were caused.