An Australian man has been detained in France over a terror threat mix-up

An Australian citizen is believed to have been detained in France over a terror threat mix-up. Photo / Getty Images

An Australian citizen is believed to have been detained in France over a terror threat mix-up.

An Air China flight from Paris to Beijing was turned back 30 minutes after takeoff yesterday due to an alleged terror threat.

The airline said flight CA876 returned to Paris after the airline "received suspected terrorist information".

"To ensure safety, CA876 flew back to Paris and landed safely," the airline had said on one of its social media accounts.

But France's state service for airport security later explained that the threat had turned out to be a false alarm resulting from a misunderstanding between the company and a passenger who arrived late for the flight at Charles de Gaulle Airport.

"A passenger who was delayed due to an abandoned suitcase at Roissy (Charles de Gaulle) Airport telephoned the company saying there had been a bomb at the terminal," the security service said. "The person he talked to thought he said that there was a bomb on the plane."

According to French newspaper Le Parisien, an Australian man has been detained pending an investigation.

It was not known why the man was taken into custody.

"The plane touched down at Roissy at 1.55pm (9.55pm AEST). It had turned back after only 30 minutes in the air," the state service for airport security said.

All of the passengers of the Boeing 787 jet will now be put on a flight to Beijing at 9pm (5am AEST) instead, it added.

The flight had been scheduled to depart Charles de Gaulle Airport at 12.30pm Paris time (8.30pm AEST).

Air China said a flight from Paris to Beijing had turned back due to "suspected terrorist information", and has landed safely back in the French capital.