A PILOT sparked an armed response after accidentally triggering the hijack alarm on board a plane.

Dutch military police were called to a suspicious situation on board a plane at Schiphol airport, Amsterdam.

2 A suspected hijacking has been reported at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam Credit: Twitter / @vikasjournolko

2 Dutch police were seen milling around after the threat was worked out to be an error Credit: AP:Associated Press

Reports on Twitter earlier suggested that three men armed with knives were trying to take control of an outbound Air Europe flight to Madrid.

"There is a suspicious situation and that's all I can say," a spokesman for the military police said.

However the airline later confirmed that the hijack alarm was triggered by mistake, adding that "nothing has happened".

Images showed crowds of people in the airport and armed police behind a cordon.

Schiphol Airport's official Twitter account tweeted: "The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee is currently investigating a situation on board of a plane at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. We keep you posted."