A Brisbane man jailed in Egypt for more than one year without charge has boarded a plane to return to Australia.

Hazem Hamouda, a 55-year-old Australian citizen, was detained shortly after landing at Cairo International Airport on January 25, 2018, the anniversary of Egypt's 2011 revolt.

Hazem Hamouda with his daughter Saja when he was released from police custody.

The Kuraby man was travelling to Egypt to join his children on a short holiday.

Mr Hamouda's family said he had no history of political activism in Egypt but believed his activity on Facebook in Australia, which in the past included material sympathetic to the Muslim Brotherhood, could be the cause of his arrest.