SEATAC, Wash. – Delays to arriving flights and jurisdictional confusion followed a bomb scare at Sea-Tac Airport caused by a man who missed his flight Wednesday afternoon.

Airport and Transportation Security Administration officials say the man arrived at the gate just minutes after the plane took off at 12:33 p.m. He allegedly told a gate attendant there was a bomb on board.

"He was trying to find a way to get the airplane back. That is not a proper way to get an airplane back or get yourself back on the plane," said airport spokesman Perry Cooper.

There was no bomb, which was a good thing, because what followed is being called a 'jurisdictional nightmare.' There was widespread confusion with how to handle the situation.

Initially, authorities thought the suspect did not have a bag on board and that the plane should be allowed to continue on without delay.

Authorities later determined the suspect had a companion on the jet, so the plane was turned around and landed at 1:15 p.m.

As a result, the Federal Aviation Administration stopped arriving flights from landing at Sea-Tac until about 2:30 p.m. Departing flights were still allowed to leave.

More than two hours after the plane landed, the passengers were still sitting inside the Airbus A320 while federal and local authorities tried to figure out what to do next, including whether passengers should be allowed to bring their carry-ons onto buses that would take them back to the terminal.

"What was interesting was that everything was okay, but we're sitting on the tarmac and there are cop cars everywhere, and then the fire trucks sitting there and people were wanting off," said one passenger. "We didn't know what was going on. We were thinking there are something more to this and nobody told us."

Around 3 p.m., passengers were taken off the plane and all luggage was removed so bomb-sniffing dogs could search for any traces of explosives.

About an hour later, Betancourt said police confirmed there was no bomb on board after the dogs had checked all the bags and the aircraft.

Three hours after landing, a TSA spokesperson didn't even know the plane had taken off in the first place.

"In this instance it hadn't taken off yet, so we were able to bring it back," said TSA spokesperson Jennifer Peppin.

Passengers were given the option of rebooking if they did not feel comfortable getting back on the plane.

Northwest spokesman Roman Blahoski said. The plane finally departed for Memphis - for the second time - at 5:14 p.m.

Two women believed to be traveling with the man were removed from the plane and taken into custody.

The man was taken to a holding facility at the airport police department's headquarters after telling a gate agent there was a bomb on Northwest Airlines Flight 980 shortly after the plane left Seattle around 12:33 p.m.

The man was never on the plane. He initially said he had no luggage on the aircraft, then later told authorities he had checked luggage under someone else's name. He will likely be charged with a felony for causing the scare.