The man who hijacked an Egyptian plane, Seif Eldin Mustafa, has been arrested, reports say.

Mustafa had on Monday morning, hijacked the Egyptair MS 181 and forced it to change route, with the aim of professing his love for his ex-wife.

The hijacked plane was flying from the Egyptian city of Alexandria to the capital city, Cairo, but was forced to land in Cyprus.

It was initially believed that the hijacker posed a bomb threat to the plane and its passengers but it was subsequently discovered that the hijacking was an extreme act of love.

An official from the Cyprus Foreign Ministry was quoted to have said the hijacking incident does not appear to be related to terrorism.

According to the official, Mustafa does appear to be unstable.