CAIRO, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Hijacker of EgyptAir passenger plane has asked for political asylum in Cyprus, state TV quoted source of Egyptian Aviation Ministry as saying on Tuesday.

Most of the passengers of the highjacked EgyptAir plane have been released except crew and foreigners, the official news agency MENA reported on Tuesday.

The EgyptAir flight No. 181 had carried 56 passengers and 8 crew on board.

The plane was heading from Alexandria to Cairo when it was highjacked and diverted to Cyprus.