Heitor Lourenco, 47, says he was reciting texts in Tibetan from his smartphone screen on the Lisbon-bound Transavia plane when police ordered everybody off the plane and led him away for questioning.
Airline spokeswoman Delphine Sacleux confirmed the cabin crew had been alerted of Lourenco's "suspicious attitude in prayer."
She said the crew followed standard procedures "given the current climate."
Police then intervened and determined that there was no problem.