Israel turned away a Lufthansa passenger plane bound for Tel Aviv on Tuesday due to a bomb threat. The plane landed safely in Cyprus after it was escorted by Israeli air force fighters.
Lufthansa said it had not judged the threat to be serious but that Israel had insisted on diverting the plane which was carrying 347 passengers and crew.
It is the sixth time in just over a week that a plane has been diverted in Europe due to a security scare.
Passengers were taken off Flight 686 from Frankfurt, a Boeing 747-400, when it landed in Larnaca shortly after 1500 (1200 GMT).
Police with sniffer dogs were searching the plane.
"...after checking with the German authorities we came to the conclusion this bomb threat was not so serious," said Lufthansa spokesman Thomas Jachnow.
"We accept the decision of the Israeli government ... but we are sure this bomb warning wasn't serious."
Jachnow, speaking by phone from Frankfurt, said there were 331 passengers and 16 crew on board.
Israeli media reported that Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz had ordered that the plane should not be allowed to enter Israeli airspace until security checks had been completed.