A suspicious package containing a detonator, batteries and a ticking clock was found on a suitcase which could have been bound for Munich, German police have said.
The bag was detected during screening at the main international airport in Namibia's capital Windhoek.
The incident led a Munich-bound flight to be delayed for several hours.
On Wednesday, Germany boosted security amid intelligence pointing to a planned terror attack.
It is not known if the latest discovery was part of this attack, says the BBC's Stephen Evans in Berlin.
But Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said the package was likely to have been bound for Germany.
"There is a lot of evidence that the luggage was intended to be transported on the flight to Munich, but we will know more about the details in the coming few days," he said.
BBC News
