Shocking moment Ryanair holidaymaker is dragged off plane by police in standoff after flight between Britain and Lanzarote had to divert to Portugal 'after a rowdy group knocked over a steward'

A holidaymaker was trapped and forcibly marched off a Ryanair flight by police today after a flight from Luton to Lanzarote was diverted to Portugal due to his behaviour.

The man, believed to be British, was forcibly removed from the plane by a dozen Portuguese police officers as other passengers looked on in amazement.

A fellow passenger who filmed the shocking scenes at Faro airport told MailOnline: 'There was a group of men who appeared to be drunk and were harassing some female passengers.

'When things started to get a bit out of hand, one of the stewards tried to intervene and was eventually overthrown.

'At this point the captain warned over the tannoy that unacceptable behavior would not be tolerated and that if it did not stop we would divert to Portugal.

This is the shocking moment a holidaymaker was left in a standoff and was forcibly marched off a Ryanair flight by police after a flight from Luton to Lanzarote was diverted to Portugal due to his behavior

The man was seen in a video filmed in the cabin being dragged down the aisle by officers

'But the commotion did not stop and twenty minutes later we were told that we would be landing in twenty minutes with no further information.

'The man fighting in the video initially got off voluntarily, but for some reason got back on the plane and was then forcibly removed by police, who put him in a headlock.

“This man was one of many who were taken away,” the passenger said.

'It was quite shocking to see. We're all a bit shocked.'

Footage filmed in the cabin showed several passengers with their phones off, watching in amazement as police dragged the man down the aisle.

The man is seen struggling with the officers, prompting them to put him in a headlock in an attempt to subdue him.

Another officer is seen holding his arm out in front of him and dragging him towards the exit.

After being dragged from the plane, the man was filmed being taken away by local police

Some passengers can be heard encouraging the officers and even cheering and clapping in the man's face, clearly wanting the disorderly man removed from the plane as quickly as possible.

'Hello mate!' a man is heard shouting. A woman shouts 'Good job!'

Separate video from the plane's passenger window showed the man being marched across the tarmac by the group of police officers.

He appeared to resist before being bundled into a police car.

Another video showed that the larger group of people who were also on the tarmac had also been removed from the plane.

The Ryanair plane was en route from Britain to the Canary Islands when it was diverted. There has been no official comment yet from Portuguese authorities, but a well-placed insider said all those involved in the incident were British.

In the photo: the diverted plane can be seen on the tarmac in Portugal

The plane left London's Luton Airport at 8am and was due to reach Lanzarote at 12.15pm local time today.

However, the plane was diverted to Portugal airport and landed in Faro in Portugal's Algarve at around 10.50am local time, with police boarding shortly afterwards.

An email has been sent to passengers on the flight saying: 'We apologize that your flight, FR3511, from London Luton to Lanzarote on 19/01/2024 was unexpectedly diverted to Faro.

'If we are forced to divert a flight, we will immediately start planning your onward journey from the airport to which you are being diverted. If your flight is diverted and will continue from there, we will do everything we can to keep this delay as minimal as possible.'