The man allegedly became disruptive on board MH122 which departed Sydney about 1pm.
An “emergency” was declared and the plane turned back to Sydney at approximately 3:40pm.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) boarded the plane hours after it landed and took the man into custody.
“During the flight, a male passenger allegedly became disruptive and claimed to have explosives on board,” the AFP said in a statement.
He has been charged with giving a false threat about damaging an aircraft and not complying with cabin crew’s safety instructions.
The offences carry a maximum penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of over $15,000.
The man is expected to appear in Downing Centre Local Court today.
The man allegedly made threats while on the plane.
Authorities defend their response
During the flight, passengers posted videos to social media allegedly showing the man raising his voice to cabin crew and fellow passengers.
Fellow passenger Velutha Parambath said about half an hour after take off the man started getting up and pushing passengers.
“He started getting a little violent, and he was preaching … talking about his religious views,” Mr Parambath said.
“He was wearing something on his hand and whenever he was talking to the crew, he was like ‘I’m not afraid of dying and, you know, I’ve got things with me,’ and so I think that’s probably what scared people off.”
Velutha Parambath said he was frustrated they spent three hours waiting on the tarmac.
Several passengers on board MH122 have criticised how long it took for the AFP to arrest and remove the man from the plane once it landed back in Sydney.
In a statement, the AFP said an evacuation was initiated once it was deemed safe for passengers and crew.
Some posted on social media they had to wait three hours on the tarmac.
“Captain came over intercom saying the authorities are still formulating a plan to get us off the plane safely … lucky we’re not on fire, we’d all be toast by the time the talking heads got their shit together,” Sammi Marks posted on Twitter.
Another passenger, Ilya Vlasov, said there was not enough communication and the handling of the situation was a “total mess”.
“I’m on MH122 now and have zero idea where the hell is the police … there is zero sign of security forces around. Is their plan just to wait till he falls asleep?”
Mr Parambath said the mood onboard was disbelief and frustration as they were forced to remain on the aircraft with the man in question.
“I know that there are safety procedures but … that was pretty scary, I’d say,” he said.
“Until then I don’t think people realised we were hostages or the gravity of the situation.”