EgyptAir Flight MS181 was taken over by a passenger claiming to be wearing a suicide explosive belt. Airline officials later said they had been told by Cypriot authorities that the belt was fake.
The hijacker's motives remain unclear but the Cypriot president said the incident was not terrorism-related.
After a morning of tension, the hijacker was seen walking down aircraft steps at Larnaca airport with his hands raised.
Some reports said the Egyptian man named by Cypriot officials as Seif Eldin Mustafa, wanted to talk to his estranged Cypriot wife who lives on the Mediterranean island, while others said he was seeking the release of female prisoners in Egypt.
The hijacker's surrender came shortly after several people were seen fleeing the aircraft. One apparently a crew member escaped by climbing out of the aircraft's cockpit window. Throughout the morning, people had been seen leaving the aircraft after appearing to have been released.
