A 29-year-old Briton was seized at gunpoint and part of Amsterdam's Schiphol airport evacuated when the man allegedly began shouting that he had a bomb in the departure lounge early on New Year's Day (2016). Other passengers are said to have fled in panic. The airport's terminal 3 was briefly evacuated and searched, and the man's luggage examined using sniffer dogs, but no device was found.

Het meest gekke aan deze foto is nog dat alle andere mensen niet op of om kijken. Op de baliemedewerker na #schiphol pic.twitter.com/qU1cTxswVG — Remy van Mannekes (@remyvanmannekes) January 1, 2016

A picture circulating on social media appears to show a man lying spread-eagled on his back as armed police point their weapons at him. He is wearing a grey top, jeans and a hat. In another image he is led away with his hands apparently handcuffed behind his back. He had apparently made a number of bomb threats.

A spokesman from the Dutch Royal Military Police said the man had been quickly arrested when passengers heard him making threats. The spokesman told The Telegraph: "We have to speak to him to find out his motives."

Getting evacuated in the airport cause of this nutjob pic.twitter.com/PwCah5FbJc — Nicholas (@MrNickSkelhorn) January 1, 2016

A spokeswoman for Schiphol Airport said: "The 29-year-old British man was arrested at around 8am. It was only the one check-in line that had to be evacuated for maximum half an hour – if that. Security control remained open as it is located further away. He was taken away by the police."

Making bomb threats at airports is treated with extreme seriousness by authorities, and several people who have done so in the past have been imprisoned. In 2015, a 15-year-old boy from Norway was sentenced to 30 days in prison in Denmark after making a threat to check-in staff for what he said was a YouTube video.

Europe remains on high alert following reports that up to seven suicide bombers are on the run after a plot to attack Munich during New Year celebrations was foiled. Information about the plot came from the French authorities.