Malaysia Airlines plane turns back after 'bomb threat'

Malaysian media has reported the country's Deputy Transport Minister Datuk Seri Aziz Ab Kaprawi told the Australian Federal Police, the "disruptive passenger" was "drunk".

Passengers recalled some 90 minutes of onboard drama after a Kuala-Lumpur-bound Malaysia Airlines flight was forced to return to Melbourne when a man threatened to detonate a bomb and attempted to enter the cockpit before he was subdued by passengers.

"It is not a hijack".

MH128 was forced to turn back to Melbourne due to a disruptive passenger who claimed to have a bomb just minutes after take-off.

A Malaysia Airlines passenger describes coming face-to-face with the man, who claimed to have an explosive device on board the flight.

Police said that Mr Marks was released from a psychiatric facility on the day of the incident.

Malaysia Airlines confirmed the incident on flight MH128, which left Melbourne at 11.11pm before performing a loop and landing again at 11.47pm.

One witness said he appeared to be holding an "electric frequency device" and not explosives, SBS tweeted.

Malaysia's state-owned airline has had two recent high-profile disasters.

The airport was closed during the incident but has now reopened.

Armed officers from an elite police unit then boarded the flight, handcuffing him and escorting him off the plane.

Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down over the Ukraine in 2014 with the loss of all 283 passengers and 15 crew and Flight 370 with 238 people aboard disappeared in 2013, believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean.

During a press briefing Thursday, Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police Graham Ashton said police initially treated the incident as terror related.

Passengers disembarked safely from the aircraft and those affected were offered the next available flight or flights via other carriers, the airline said.

Police said passengers were speaking to investigators, adding: "There appears to be no imminent threat to passengers, staff or public and the investigation is ongoing".

"They managed to calm the situation, allow the aircraft to return safely and we can't commend them highly enough", he added.