'Air rage' woman arrested

Police waited at Manchester Airport to arrest the woman

A woman has been arrested after allegedly head-butting an airline stewardess on a packed transatlantic flight.

Cabin crew had to physically restrain the 26-year-old woman on the Airtours International flight from Orlando, Florida, to Manchester.

The mid-air scuffle reportedly started after cabin staff tried to stop the woman smoking in one of the toilets.

The pilot was so concerned about the incident, he put the aircraft into a holding pattern until he was sure it was safe to land.

The injured Airtour's supervisor, 28-year-old Vanessa Martinez, had to be treated in hospital for facial injuries after the A330 Airbus touched down.

Police said that a woman from Withington, Manchester, was being held at Manchester Airport for questioning.

A spokeswoman for the airline said:"Airtours International are absolutely appalled by this incident and will not tolerate such behaviour."

Injured: Airtour's Vanessa Martinez

The woman was understood to have been travelling with her nine-year-old son, another woman and a teenager on the flight, which was full with 360 passengers.

Social services were called to the airport to assist police.

Fifty-year-old Eric Davey from Ecclestone in Lancashire was sitting with his wife in front of the woman when the incident happened.

'Restrained'

He said she appeared to become annoyed when a baby started crying, and then went to the toilet.

A commotion broke out and a steward asked two men to help restrain the woman.

"When they were trying to restrain her she headbutted two more, a man and a woman," said Mr Davey.

A member of the cabin crew reportedly had to sit with the woman for the rest of the flight to prevent further incident.

"We thought we would have to divert to Shannon Airport in Southern Ireland or Reykjavik in Iceland," added Mr Davey.