All passengers except the crew and four foreign passengers have been released from the hijacked EgyptAir flight MS181, which took off from Egypt’s Alexandria airport and forcibly landed at the Larnaca airport in Cyprus.

The flight was scheduled to arrive in Cairo at 7:15am local time.

A BBC report had earlier cited the plane has 82 passengers on board.

Reports claim the hijacker, Seif El Din Mustafa, an Egyptian national, demanded a letter to be delivered to his ex-wife, who resides in Cyprus. He also asked to be granted asylum in the country.

Former European Commissioner for Education Androulla Vassiliou, a Cypriot, confirmed the news, writing on Twitter that the plane landed shortly before 7am.

The BBC quoted Egypt state radio, which reported that one man on board is armed, while other unconfirmed reports suggested there may be a bomb on the aircraft.

On 31 October 2015, a Russian commercial plane, which took off from Egypt’s Sharm el-Sheikh airport, crashed into Sinai, killing all 224 on board.

It is understood that Egyptian authorities have tightened security in the country’s airports since the incident last year.