A PASSENGER plane carrying 169 people has been forced to land in Sweden after receiving a terrifying mid-air bomb threat this morning, according to reports.

The Norwegian aircraft, which took off from Arlanda Airport in Stockholm at 9.45 am local time, was en route to Nice, France when it received the threat forced to turn back and make an emergency landing.

The bomb threat was received at 10.39am while the plane landed back in Stockholm at around 11.15am. Police and emergency workers have met with the plane at the far end of the runway, according to local media. Passengers and crew have been evacuated and armed special forces have attended the scene, it has been reported.

One of the scared travellers on board Isak Eliasson told SVT, via a series of text messages, that at 12 noon, the plane’s terrified passengers were still waiting to leave the jet. He said the police told the travellers to switch off their phones and eventually instructed them to disembark in groups of 10.