So far Egypt has said it has found no evidence that the Metrojet flight, which took off from Sharm el Sheikh airport and crashed in the Sinai Peninsula in October with 224 people on board, was brought down by terrorism.
A senior security official at EgyptAir denied that any of its employees had been arrested or were under suspicion, while an Interior Ministry official also said there had been no arrests.
But Reuters' sources, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the ongoing investigation, said the mechanic had been detained along with two airport policemen and a baggage handler suspected of helping him put the bomb on the plane.
"After learning that one of its members had a relative that worked at the airport, Islamic State delivered a bomb in a handbag to that person," one of the sources told the news agency, adding the suspect's cousin joined IS in Syria 18 months ago.
"He was told to not ask any questions and get the bomb on the plane."
Another source said of the other suspects: "Two policemen are suspected of playing a role by turning a blind eye to the operation at a security checkpoint.
"But there is a possibility that they were just not doing their jobs properly."
None of those arrested have been prosecuted so far, the sources said.
In the aftermath of the crash, an IS affiliate has claimed responsibility for bringing down the Airbus 321-200.
IS' online magazine later carried a photo of a Schweppes can it claimed was used to make an improvised bomb that brought down the jet.
The photo showed a can of Schweppes Gold soft drink and what appeared to be a detonator and switch on a blue background.
Russia and Western nations have long said they believe the flight was downed by a bomb smuggled on board.
But Egypt has so far publicly said it has not found any evidence of foul play.
If there are formal charges or official confirmation from Egypt that a bomb brought down the plane, Cairo could potentially be required to make compensation payments to the families of the victims.
The EgyptAir official said state security police had investigated all of the workers at the airport and did not find any evidence implicating them.
The official added state security traced the family connections of all the employees and they were cleared.
"Any employee who shows sympathy to militants is prevented from going to work in any airport," he was quoted as saying by Reuters.
An Interior Ministry source also said no one had been arrested in connection with the crash and they were waiting for the results of the investigation.
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