A Hong Kong woman has been arrested in Taiwan after terrifying passengers on a flight from Taipei to Hong Kong by saying there was a bomb on board.

The Hongkonger, who has not been identified, was charged under the island’s civil aviation law, after yelling that a Hong Kong Airlines flight scheduled to take off at 12.25pm on Thursday was “not safe”, causing alarm among her fellow passengers, Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported.

“There is a bomb on the plane,” she was quoted as saying. “The plane is not safe.”

The disturbance led to the flight being delayed for 3½ hours.

The woman and her male cousin were escorted off the aircraft and detained by police.

Hong Kong Airlines said that after the incident its staff conducted a safety investigation involving passengers, their baggage and the aircraft itself as a “precautionary measure”.

The flight was cleared for take-off at 3.57pm.

The carrier said in a statement it was “fully committed to the safety and security of our passengers”.

“We have reported to the authorities and are cooperating with them on investigations,” it said.

Hong Kong’s trade office in Taipei and the island’s Criminal Investigation Bureau’s public affairs office were not reachable by telephone on Saturday.

Local media reported that the woman yelled “Help me” in Cantonese as she was taken off the plane. She also described herself as “Chan Tong-kai 2.0”, in reference to the Hong Kong man accused of murdering his pregnant girlfriend Poon Hiu-wing while on a trip to Taiwan last year.

“Quickly bring me back to Hong Kong,” the woman was heard to say in a television news report of the incident.

Chan’s case, which prompted the Hong Kong government to introduce the controversial extradition bill that sparked more than four months of anti-government demonstrations, has also created conflict between Hong Kong and Taiwan over the jurisdiction for the case.

While Chan has offered to surrender himself, Taiwanese authorities have said that he must apply for a visa to the island through a special “single window” mechanism created specifically to handle the case, and that he will be arrested on arrival.

The Hong Kong government said on Friday that Taiwan should not politicise the case and allow Chan’s free surrender, while Taipei said the suspect must follow the proper legal procedures to avoid infringing on the island’s sovereignty.

While Hong Kong is a semi-autonomous city under Beijing, Taiwan is a self-governed island that Beijing has repeatedly said will be one day brought under its rule, by force if necessary.