A woman was arrested at Auckland Airport after a security issue late on Thursday morning.
A 57-year-old woman has been held under the Civil Aviation Act.
Air New Zealand said it received what it described as a "non-specific verbal threat" involving the flight a passenger arrived too late for.
The plane, which had already left for Napier, returned to Auckland as a precaution but was cleared by Aviation Security before departing again.
A woman has been charged with communicating false information, and will appear in court on Monday.
A spokesperson for Auckland airport said a runway had to be closed for about half an hour as a precaution.
