"easyJet can confirm that flight EZY3246 from Ljubljana to London Stansted diverted to Cologne on Saturday".
Passengers flagged three men to crew during the flight, saying they overheard 'suspicious conversation'.
But the three men - all British citizens - were released after witness testimony about the conversation could not be verified, said police in Cologne, Germany.
The men, ages 31, 38 and 48, were initially arrested for a possible "crime against the state", police and prosecutors said in a joint statement Sunday.
"Prior to this, the pilot had been informed about a suspicious conversation on board, after which he decided to make an unscheduled landing in Cologne-Bonn".
Police carried out a "controlled explosion" on a rucksack belonging to one of the men that contained wires, but these turned out to be part of a charging device, Gilles said.
The suspects were interrogated by the criminal police, with testimony interviews with other passengers also being conducted.
After the plane landed in a secure area of Cologne-Bonn airport at about 6:00 pm (1600 GMT), federal police evacuated the 151 passengers down emergency slides.
Theresa May finalises cabinet amid minority government talks
Conservative legislator Anna Soubry said she should "consider her position", while another, Heidi Allen, said she may not last six months.
Bild newspaper said passengers told airline personnel they had heard the men using words including "bomb" and "explosive", and said one carried a suspicious backpack. "It wasn't until perhaps 10 minutes later that we were told "due to operational reasons" we would be diverting to Cologne airport".
Take-offs and landings were suspended for three hours during the evening security alert, causing 10 flights to be diverted and delays to 20 outbound flights. Caused the suspected backpack was blown up by German experts, its contents are now being explored.
German police searched the aircraft and found no explosives in the men's luggage or on the plane.
All 151 passengers on the flight from Ljubljana, in Slovenia, were evacuated down emergency chutes and several people suffered minor injuries, Cologne police said.
They will fly back to the United Kingdom later this morning.
Easyjet said the captain had taken the decision to land as a precaution to allow additional security checks to take place.
German state prosecutors said passengers reported that the men were talking about "terrorist matters".
Comments