Amsterdam airport bomb threat: Schiphol departure hall evacuated after man claims to have explosive

Police say man threatened people with a knife before being overpowered by officers

A view of Schiphol International Airport in Amsterdam, Netherlands (REUTERS)

A departure hall at Amsterdam's Schiphol airport has been evacuated after a man claimed to have a bomb, reports say.

"Man threatens with a bomb in Departure hall 3 at Schiphol. Currently Departure hall 3 is being evacuated. More information will follow as soon as possible," the airport said on its official Twitter account.

The Dutch Royal Military Police said a man at Schiphol Plaza had threatened people with a knife.

The force later said its officers had overpowered the man and that the terminal had re-opened. The detained man was a 51-year-old Canadian and no explosives were found, it said.

Normal airport operations were resuming, police said.

Further details were not immediately available about the suspect or nature of the threat at the airport outside the Dutch capital. Police did not return telephone calls seeking comment.

Schiphol tweeted at about 7.30pm UK time on Monday: "Departures and Arrivals 3 were evacuated due to a bomb threat. The police ... arrested the suspect. Departures and Arrivals 3 are now being opened again for operation."