Plane makes emergency landing after fisticuffs fly at 30,000ft

An ugly fistfight erupted on a packed London-bound flight at 30,000 feet after an air hostess was assaulted, prompting an emergency landing in Istanbul.

The Middle East Airlines flight from Beirut was forced to make the emergency landing in Istanbul's Ataturk Airport after the argument broke out.

An elderly man, named only as Z A Sh, reportedly began shouting and swearing at his wife, before he punched a fellow passenger.

Cabin crew rushed to break up the fight, but the man "violently" shoved one of them away and punched another, The Mirror reported.

The young man seen in the video of the brawl, with a beard and dark hair, then raced over to help the air hostesses.

The older man then calms down for a few minutes but lashes out at one of the air hostesses again as he walks towards the toilet -- prompting the younger man to jump in again.

Cabin crew quickly grabbed both the men and pulled them apart as the air hostess screamed at the passenger who tried to punch her.

The plane's captain then decided to make an emergency landing in Istanbul and the older man was dragged off the flight by four security guards.

Footage of the incident that took place last Wednesday was uploaded to liveleak the day after the incident.

"It all started when the old man started shouting and swearing at a passenger and his wife and then he punched that passenger," a passenger told the daily.

"Then one flight attendant tried to break it off, and that old man pushed her violently, another flight attendant came to help and the man punched her. This is when the young man in the video got involved and tried to stop the old man," the passenger said.

"After other passengers also stopped him, the old man kept swearing at everyone for a while. After about 15 minutes everyone calmed down and went back to their seats. The old man then asked to go to the toilet and he walked towards the young guy and that's where the video started," the passenger added.