A bomb scare forced the evacuation of a plane preparing to take off at Malaga Airport, it has emerged.

Passengers on the KLM flight to Amsterdam were ordered to disembark after travellers discovered a wifi network warning of a bomb onboard.

The incident happened on May 9 shortly before the aircraft was due to depart for Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.

According to Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf, the KLM flight, operated by a Boeing 737-800, had already begun moving towards the runway for its scheduled 8.30pm departure when a passenger attempted to connect to the onboard wifi.

While searching for the airline’s network, the traveller reportedly spotted another hotspot using the name: ‘Allahu Akbar (bomb on board)’.

The passenger immediately alerted cabin crew, triggering a major security response.

The aircraft was returned to a secure area of the airport, where passengers were ordered to disembark while officers from the Guardia Civil, including a specialist sniffer dog unit, carried out a full inspection of the plane and all luggage.

According to one anonymous passenger quoted by the Dutch media outlet, everyone onboard was taken to a separate holding area while the aircraft and baggage were searched again.

No explosive device or credible threat was ultimately found and the incident was later confirmed to be a false alarm.

KLM confirmed the scare but declined to provide full details about the security operation.

A spokesperson for the airline said passenger and crew safety remained the ‘highest priority’, adding that the aircraft was thoroughly inspected before being cleared to fly again.

The flight eventually departed for Amsterdam around four hours late, arriving shortly before 3am local time.

Roughly 200 passengers were believed to have been onboard.

Authorities have not confirmed who created the wifi hotspot or whether anyone has been identified.

Some passengers reportedly claimed airline staff were attempting to trace the device responsible for the network, although KLM said it could not confirm where the signal came from or whether any arrest had been made.

The incident caused significant anxiety among travellers, with some reportedly refusing to reboard the aircraft afterwards.

However, passengers praised airline staff for providing regular updates and helping calm nervous travellers, particularly elderly passengers and pregnant women.

Others chose to spend the night in a hotel instead of continuing their journey immediately.

KLM said affected passengers may be entitled to compensation due to the lengthy delay, while stressing that incidents of this kind remain extremely rare among the thousands of flights it operates each week.

Read more Andalucia news at the Spanish Eye.