The suspect, a German national, set off airport scanners while attempting to get on a flight around 8am on Thursday at Gothenburg’s Landvetter airport.
Police spokesman Peter Adlersson said the man was stopped as he tried to get onto a flight to another European Union state.
The bomb squad was called after several packets of explosive TATP, often nicknamed ‘Satan’s mother’, was discovered.
Security shut down part of Landvetter airport as bomb squads investigated if the containers were safe to move.
Mr Adlersson said a regular security check flagged up signs of explosive material in the suspect’s luggage which was being tested.
The objects were taken away for testing and the airport reopened.
Police reportedly found two cans containing a brown liquid and a third containing a white liquid which are currently being tested, according to the local newspaper Göteborgs-posten.
The man is believed to have been charged with “attempted general devastation”.
He has been denied bail and remains in custody.
The man has denied the charges.
Local newspaper Goteborgs-Posten said the man was a German citizen and, citing an unidentified source, that his luggage contained the explosive TATP.
TATP, short for triacetone triperoxide, was used in the blast that killed 22 people outside a pop concert in the English city of Manchester in May.
More to follow…