Elizabeth Ann Elliott pleaded guilty to the charge and two counts of actual bodily harm after an incident on a British Airways flight.

She returns to Isleworth Crown Court on Friday, where she faces being sent to prison.

BA had 260 "air rage" incidents last year

The sentencing comes in the same week as BA unveiled its "yellow card" system for warning disruptive passengers of the penalties they risk.

Branded "air rage" by the media, the incidence of violent behaviour among passengers has shot up in past years.

BA recorded 260 serious incidents during its flights last year and said more than two-thirds of these started with passengers disobeying rules on smoking.

This went to the other extreme in July, when a pilot flying a BA-owned plane kept passengers waiting on the runway for 40 minutes after landing - until a passenger who had smoked in the toilets owned up.

But the airline insists "air rage" is a serious problem and warns it could even lead to an accident in the sky.

John Henson: Had to be restrained and caused a plane to be diverted

The worst previous case before the British courts was that of a businessman who threatened to kill the pilot of an airliner and head-butt a fellow passenger.

John Henson, 33, was fined nearly £7,000 after the flight from London to Florida - also a British Airways craft - had to be diverted to Boston.