He was arrested at about 11.45pm. EST on Monday (0445 BST on Tuesday) at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as he attempted to board a flight to Dubai, local and federal officials said.

Emirates Airlines said that three passengers were removed from a New York-Dubai flight. It was not immediately clear if it was the same flight that Shahzad was trying to board.

Emirates can confirm that its flight EK 202 (from New York to Dubai on May 3) … was called back by the local authorities prior to departure. Three passengers were removed from the flight,” the airline said in a statement.

“Full security procedures were activated, including the deplaning of all passengers and a thorough screening of the aircraft, passengers, and baggage. Emirates is co-operating with the local authorities,” it said.

Shahzad will appear in Manhattan federal court later on Tuesday to face charges “for allegedly driving a car bomb into Times Square on the evening of May 1,” according to a statement by US Attorney Preet Bharara, FBI agent George Venizelos and New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly.

Mr Kelly has said that more than one person may have been involved in the plot.

Shahzad, 30, is believed to have bought the 1993 Nissan sport utility vehicle used to carry the crude bomb made of fuel and fireworks into Times Square as the theatre and shopping area was packed with people on a warm Saturday evening.

Had the bomb detonated, many people could have died, officials said.

Authorities carried out a court-authorised search warrant at Shahzad’s home in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the FBI said on Tuesday in a predawn statement at the site. An FBI spokeswoman did not say what authorities had found.

For New Yorkers who bore the brunt of the Sept. 11 attacks by al Qaeda militants in 2001, the scare was a reminder that their city of 8 million people remained under constant threat.

Emirates, the airline whose flight Shahzad had boarded in New York before being detained, said in a statement that a total of three passengers were removed from the plane.

“Full security procedures were activated including the deplaning of all passengers and a thorough screening of the aircraft, passengers and baggage,” an Emirates spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Pakistan pledged to help the United States in the case.

“We will co-operate with the United States in identifying this individual and bringing him to justice,” Interior Minister Rehman Malik told Reuters.