A 'drunk' man had to be dragged off a property TUI flight after allegedly assaulting a cabin crew member and refusing to hand over a bottle of wine gin.
The man was on flightTOM778 from Glasgow to Antalya in Turkey, which departed on Friday at 5:15 p.m.
One passenger said he was already drunk when he boarded with his partner and became verbally abusive when asked to hand over his alcohol.
He also allegedly attacked a flight attendant.
Less than an hour after takeoff, it was announced that the flight would divert to Newcastle Airport, where police removed the man from the plane.
Video footage shows him being dragged away by officers as frustrated passengers look on.
Holidaymakers reached Antalya more than five hours later than planned.
A passenger said: 'They were seen drunk as they boarded the plane. He refused to hand over his own bottle of gin and became verbally abusive.”
'It was announced 45 minutes after take-off that we had to divert due to unruly passengers. It took another 45 minutes before we arrived in Newcastle around 7pm.
'Two police officers boarded the plane and handcuffed him, but he became upset so two more officers came on board. His partner was also taken off the plane amid loud cheers, while giving everyone the middle finger.
'There were further delays in getting his bags out of the hold. The cabin crew was replaced due to the serious event and exceeding opening hours.
'The aircraft was also refueled after excess material was burned to allow for a safe emergency landing.'
The passenger said they had been waiting on the tarmac for about five hours and described the entire incident as “obviously upsetting for the children on board and frustrating for everyone.”
They added: 'The captain personally visited each passenger in the aftermath to answer questions.
'While a scenario crew was being prepared, information slowly emerged as to whether we would continue or disembark at Newcastle. They couldn't let us off the plane because of border control issues.”
'It was very costly and disruptive for 200 people on board. TUI was very professional and appreciated everyone's patience.'
The airline offered each passenger a holiday voucher as compensation.
A TUI spokesperson said: 'We would like to apologize to customers on TOM778 from Glasgow to Antalya who had to divert to Newcastle due to a disruptive passenger on board the flight.
'Our aim is to ensure customers have the best flying experience possible, so this is not the way we wanted their holiday to start.
“The safety of our customers and crew is our first priority and unacceptable behavior will not be tolerated. The customer involved was unloaded from the aircraft and the flight was able to continue its journey.
'We have offered a gesture of goodwill to customers in light of this disruption to the start of their holidays and to thank them for their patience and understanding.
'The flight departed Newcastle for Antalya at 10.50pm on Friday 24 May.'
Northumbria Police have been contacted for comment.
In January this year, a holidaymaker was restrained and marched off a Ryanair flight by the police after his erratic behavior forced the plane to make an emergency landing Portugal.
The passenger, believed to be British, was dragged off the plane by a dozen Portuguese police officers as other passengers looked on in amazement.
The following month, two men were on another Ryanair flight, this time from Edinburgh to Tenerife, started hitting and spitting on each other.
Within days of that incident, the children were left in tears a drunken fight broke out on a third Ryanair flightalso from Edinburgh to Tenerife.
The plane made an emergency landing in Porto, Portugalwhere police escorted some passengers off the plane before it continued its journey to Tenerife.
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