German authorities say that a man who sparked a security scare at Munich's airport that shut the facility for hours was an ordinary passenger.

The event on Wednesday began after the man's laptop set off an alert for possible explosives. He left the screening area before security officers realized he was gone or the computer was checked again.

Authorities say that the man apparently did not know the alarm had been triggered.

Video footage showed him wandering around a duty-free shop after leaving the security area, regional government officials said.

About 1,200 police officers searched for the man in the airport's Terminal 2 building, but he had already been evacuated along with the other passengers.

Once passengers were readmitted, the man when through security again. This time, however, the laptop did not set off the alarm.

"Obviously he did not even know that he himself had triggered the major action with his premature departure from the control area in the afternoon," said regional governor Christoph Hillenbrand.

Explosives detectors can give false alarms in the presence of substances such as chocolate or perfume.

rc/AFP/dpa
Editor: Kyle James