South African President's security staff stranded on a plane in Poland for over 24 hours
The stand-off happened at Warsaw's Chopin airport. The aircraft will now be held there until Sunday.
About 120 people were stuck on the plane, who were all on their way to a peace summit in Ukraine.
Some of the passengers are now disembarking and going to a hotel.
Poland's actions have left President Cyril Ramaphosa, who travelled separately to Ukraine, without some of his security detail.
This prompted a furious reaction from Mr Ramaphosa's head of security, Maj Gen Wally Rhoode.
"They are delaying us, they are putting the life of our president in jeopardy," he told journalists. "We could have been in Kyiv by now and this is all they are doing. I want you guys to see how racist they are."
But Poland has dismissed this outright.
"Accusations against Poland of racism are being circulated in this case. This is nonsense," says the director of the National Security Department and spokesman for Poland's Minister-Special Services Coordinator, Stanisław Żaryn.
"We cannot let passengers with illegal firearms into the EU," he said.
Mr Rudzki added that they were told they could disembark if they left their weapons on the plane but they refused.
"The firearms... were not going to be confiscated as some reports in South Africa have said," he added.
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