The hijacker who diverted the EgyptAir plane to land in Larnaca airport on March 29, surrendered hours after the incident.

The hijack of a domestic Egyptian flight that caused it to be diverted to Cyprus has ended with all hostages released and the hijacker surrendering, the BBC reported yesterday. EgyptAir Flight MS181 ‘was taken over’ by a passenger named by Cypriot officials as Seif Eldin Mustafa, claiming to be wearing a suicide explosive belt. Airline officials later said they had been told by Cypriot authorities that the belt was fake.  Egypt's Civil Aviation Ministry said the plane's pilot, Omar al-Gammal, had informed authorities that he was threatened by a passenger wearing a suicide explosives belt and forced him to land in Larnaca.

About 60 people, including seven crew, had been onboard the Egyptian plane on an internal flight between Alexandria and the capital, Cairo, Egyptian and Cypriot officials said.

BBC quotes Cypriot government spokesman Nikos Christodulides as saying in a tweet that no-one was injured in the hijacking. The hijacker's motives remain unclear but the Cypriot president said the incident was not terrorism-related. Cyprus broadcasting (CYBC) reported that the hijacker may have personal motives. He had an ex-wife in Cyprus, CYBC said. News agencies quotes witnesses as saying the hijacker threw a letter on the apron of the airport in Larnaca, written in Arabic, asking that it be delivered to his ex-wife, who is Cypriot. Concordant reports holds that the Egyptian man 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. Cyprus has seen little militant activity for decades, despite its proximity to the Middle East.