Ryanair passengers witness mid-air brawl on flight from Newcastle to Alicante

A mid-air brawl broke out on a Ryanair flight from Newcastle to Alicante, terrifying fellow travellers.

Mobile phone footage of the incident, which took place on Thursday, shows the passengers fighting across rows of seats.

A man and a woman appear to be initially involved in an argument, before a third woman attempts to throw a punch. Gasps are audible from the cabin as the situation became physical.

The fight took place just prior to the aircraft landing. Lucy Norris, of Blyth, Northumberland, recorded the fracas and said the woman responsible for starting it was drunk.

Speaking to the Chronicle Live, she said: “It was just as we were about to land when the woman started kicking off.

”She was shouting, screaming and making a show of herself. She had been rude to a few people on the flight and I think she was mortal drunk.

“The police were made aware and we thought they were going to come on and drag her off but it didn't happen. They were waiting there as we got off.”

The aircraft left Newcastle at 10.55am and Ryanair has stated that the incident illustrates the need for controls on alcohol consumption at airports.

Speaking to The Independent a Ryanair spokesperson said: “The crew of this flight from Newcastle to Alicante requested police assistance upon arrival after a passenger became disruptive inflight. The aircraft landed normally and the passenger was met by police.

“We will not tolerate unruly or disruptive behaviour at any time and the safety and comfort of our customers, crew and aircraft is our number one priority. This passenger has been banned from flying with Ryanair and this is now a matter for local police.

“This is exactly why we are calling for significant changes to prohibit the sale of alcohol at airports, such as a two-drink limit per passenger and no alcohol sales before 10am.

”It's incumbent on the airports to introduce these preventative measures to curb excessive drinking and the problems it creates, rather than allowing passengers to drink to excess before their flights.”