Hundreds of people were evacuated from Aberdeen International Airport amid fears a suspicious package had been left at the terminal.
Police were called to help security staff try to track down a suspect bag in part of the building.
The airport was shut for about 15 minutes as a full search was carried out.
But last night neither the police nor anyone at Aberdeen International Airport would reveal whether or not anything was found.
Several flight were delayed and up to 400 passengers had to go queue to through security screening again before being allowed to head to the departure lounge.
One passenger said: “The airport announcement was for ‘operation reasons’ but there are loads of police and border control.
“There were a lot of police that went through before us. Those we saw were not armed, but there was a really big presence.”
Among those affected were 48 Hazlehead Academy pupils and eight members of school staff who were on their way to New York to appear in a Broadway show.
Teacher Amy Nicolson, who was chaperoning several of the students on their journey, had to wait in line for more than half an hour to be cleared to board their connecting flights.
The winding queue of frustrated travellers – which stretched from the airport entrance to the Granite City pub and all the way to the terminal’s coffee shop.
Miss Nicolson said: “We’re travelling in separate groups, and our first group were halfway through security when everyone got evacuated, so they had to go through security again.
“We should be ok, but the first group have around a two-and-a-half hour turnaround to get to New York so I don’t know about them.
“We’ve been planning this since last year, it’s a performing arts trip to Broadway.”
One man arrived at the airport from Shetland during the incident and said he and his fellow passengers were prevented from leaving their aircraft until the situation had been resolved.
He said :”We got told to wait on the plane and then we were told that a suspicious package was found at the airport.
“We were then told that somebody had taken the package and they couldn’t find it again. So we were told to keep waiting on the plane.”
Many passengers took to social media during the incident claiming they had seen the bomb squad and police dogs at the airport, but a police spokesman confirmed no specialist units had been sent to the scene.
By around noon, most of the displaced passengers and the build-up of travellers who had arrived following the evacuation had managed to get through security, and no flights were cancelled as a result of the disruption.
A police spokesman said: “Aberdeen Airport requested assistance from Police Scotland in the re-screening of passengers.”
Shortly after the evacuation, Aberdeen International Airport’s duty manager said: “We had an operational incident ongoing.
“All passengers screened in the last hour had to be reprocessed. The airport was evacuated as part of a security operation. I can’t tell you the nature of the incident.
“The lounge was cleared for about 15 minutes while it was searched.
“About 400 passengers had to be re-searched at security following the alert and incoming flights were held on the tarmac during the operation.”
Later in the day, however, the Press and Journal’s attempts to contact the airport were met with a recorded message saying the press officer was on holiday.
A statement was then issued through Glasgow Airport’s communications and public affairs department.
A spokeswoman said “At approximately 10am today, police were called to a report of a suspicious item at Aberdeen International Airport.
“The terminal was evacuated as a precautionary measure and the incident has since been stood down.
“Passengers have been reprocessed through security and the airport has returned to business as usual.”