Most of the passengers on board a hijacked Egyptian airliner that was forced to divert to Cyprus have been freed, the airline says.

EgyptAir Flight MS181 was taken over after a passenger said he was wearing an explosives belt.

Reports say the lone hijacker wants to talk to his estranged Cypriot wife, who is now on the way to the airport.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades told reporters the hijack was not a terrorist incident.

"We are doing our upmost in order for everyone to be released and safe," he added.

In response to a reporter's question about whether the hijacker was motivated by romance, he laughed and said: "Always there is a woman involved."

EgyptAir said negotiations at Larnaca airport had resulted in the release of all those on board, apart from the crew and four foreign passengers.

More people have subsequently been seen leaving the aircraft. It remains unclear precisely how many people are still on board.

EgyptAir said the Airbus A320 was carrying 81 passengers from Alexandria to Cairo.

A senior Alexandria airport official said those on board the flight when it took off included eight Americans, four Britons, four Dutch, two Belgians, one Italian and 30 Egyptians.

"The pilot said that a passenger told him he had an explosives vest and forced the plane to land in Larnaca," the Egyptian civil aviation ministry said in a statement.

Larnaca airport, on the south coast of Cyprus, has been closed and scheduled flights diverted elsewhere.

EgyptAir Flight MS181, bound for Cairo, was forced to divert to Larnaca airport in Cyprus

Negotiations began and then people were seen emerging from the plane

Most of the passengers on board a hijacked Egyptian airliner that was forced to divert to Cyprus have been freed, the airline says.

EgyptAir said negotiations had resulted in the release of all those on board Flight MS181 apart from the crew and four foreign passengers.

Video from Larnaca airport has shown people leaving the plane and boarding a bus.

It was taken over after a passenger said he was wearing an explosives belt.

It was carrying 81 passengers from Alexandria to Cairo.

Larnaca airport, on the south coast of Cyprus, has been closed and scheduled flights diverted elsewhere.

"The pilot said that a passenger told him he had an explosives vest and forced the plane to land in Larnaca," the Egyptian civil aviation ministry said in a statement.

"The information we have so far is that it is one hijacker. The person has yet to make any demands," Cypriot foreign ministry Alexandros Zenon told French television.

Egypt Air has confirmed that its flight MS181 has been hijacked.

The plane journeying from Alexandria to Cairo has landed in Cyprus, where officials say they suspect a bomb on board.

Associated Press is also saying that the hijacker has allowed women and children to leave the plane, and that some are now disembarking.

According to an alert from Reuters, the hijack took place when the pilot of the plane was threatened by a passenger who appeared to have a suicide bomb belt, according to Egypt’s aviation ministry.