Saudi Arabian Airlines (Saudia), said a bomb scare that grounded its Riyadh-bound flight from Madrid on Thursday was a false alarm.

"It's just another hoax that all airlines are subjected to," a Saudia spokesman told Reuters when asked about the incident.

"It's false but we must do all the necessary precautionary formalities." Saudia's flight SVA 226 returned to Madrid's Barajas airport after an alert was raised over a bomb threat, the Interior Minister Jose Fernandez Diaz said.

A general alarm was raised at Spanish international airport Barajas with all passengers and crew evacuated from the plane and Saudia's aircraft isolated at the airport.