Major brawl breaks out on Ryanair flight as passengers have punch-up in middle of aisle

A fight broke out in the aisle of a flight from Liverpool to Tenerife last month, with a number of passengers got involved in the scrap.

It's not one of the things you'd want to see before jetting off on holiday, but the moment when a disgruntled passenger slapped an air steward was caught on video, and it's no surprise that the shocking footage has gone viral on social media.

Passengers onboard the Boeing 737 were getting excited for their Spanish getaway, though with some people standing in the aisle and an air steward seemingly closing an overhead locker, the shocking moment broke out of nothing.

The 100+ travellers onboard were given a free show to street fight-level brawl onboard, as one tourist scrapped with the staff over a reason that is still unclear.

Footage shows a member of the cabin crew standing in the aisle, before turning to see a small crowd of people nearby.

A man that had 'become upset on board' then reached across to slap the air steward in the middle of their flight, before trying to reopen the overhead locker to get something, according to The Olive Press.

After landing the blow, on-looking passengers let out a roar before a different passenger got up to punch the aggressor in the nose, causing a further scuffle before sitting back down.

Ryanair has since confirmed that the violent tourist had been banned from the airline.

The major punch up was eventually controlled by staff and passengers onboard. (Canal 4 Tenerife)

Staff and other passengers stepped in to stop the incident from getting out of hand, as the man was pulled to the ground and detained with a seat belt, Spanish media reports.

It's still not clear what caused the punch-up, but after the incident the flight was diverted to Santiago in the northwest of Spain after police were called on the violent passenger.

Upon landing, officials met the plane on the tarmac along with a doctor, as the 737 touched down on the mainland after air traffic controllers said that officers needed to be on the ground following the emergency landing.

An originally straight forward trip was made longer for the safety of those onboard, as a flight from Santiago to Tenerife usually takes under three hours.

Air traffic controllers at the time posted on X: "The crew of a flight from Liverpool to Tenerife south have contacted us about a conflictive passenger on board and have had to divert to Santiago de Compostela."

The flight had to be diverted. (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)

It has not been confirmed if there have been any arrests made.

A spokesperson for Ryanair told LADbible today (20 August): "This flight from Liverpool to Tenerife (4 Jul) diverted to Santiago after a passenger became disruptive onboard.

"Crew called ahead for police assistance and the aircraft was met by local police upon arrival who removed this passenger before this flight continued to Tenerife.

"This passenger has since been banned from flying with Ryanair."