Saudi Arabian Airlines flight SVA 226 is isolated on the tarmac after its passengers and crew were evacuated following a bomb threat, at the Barajas airport in Madrid, Spain, Thursday. (Reuters/Sergio Perez)

Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), declared that a bomb threat that grounded its Madrid-Riyadh flight on Thursday was a false alarm.

“It’s just another hoax that all airlines are subjected to,” a Saudia spokesman told Reuters when asked about the incident.

“It’s false but we must do all the necessary precautionary formalities.”

Saudia’s flight SVA 226 went back to Madrid’s Barajas airport after an alert was raised over a bomb threat placed on the plane, the Interior Minister Jose Fernandez Diaz said.

Reports said that the pilot on the flight to Riyadh raised the pre-take off alarm after finding a note reading ‘bomb aboard’ pinned to the bathroom wall with a knife onboard.

The Saudi Airlines plane was quickly isolated in a secure area of the airport, where all 97 passengers and 15 crew members were evacuated.