Punch-up in Mid-Air on a Tunisair Flight

This is the horrifying moment a plane passenger drags a woman by the hair and punches her as a mass brawl reportedly about overhead lockers breaks out on a Tunisair flight.

The shocking incident was filmed on Tunisair flight TU216 at Istanbul Airport in Turkey before the plane was meant to head to Tunis-Carthage International Airport in Tunisia on April 10. 

Airline officials said the brawl led to five-hour delays because takeoff had to be pushed back.  

Footage shows two women pushing and hitting each other as a flight attendant attempts to push a male passenger further down the plane's aisle. 

A woman in a white top then begins screaming and shouting at three other women before hitting them and trying to get past them. 

The brawl continues as a flight attendant desperately tries to diffuse the situation and calm the passengers down. 

The woman in the white top appears to be being held back by an older woman in a pink headscarf. 

While the women in white has her back turned the male passenger who had been pushed away earlier makes a break for it and grabs her hair. 

He tightly grips her hair and pulls her backwards before punching her in the head. 

The woman in a pink headscarf desperately tries to pull the woman in white away from the man who only releases his vice-like grip when the flight attendant gets physically involved.   

The woman in the white top then begins screaming at the man who assaulted her and violently thrashes to free herself from the woman in the headscarf who is holding her back.

The footage ends as hordes of passengers are seen standing in the aisle of the plane with many of them screaming and shouting at each other. 

The brawl is believed to have originated from a fight about overhead locker space on the plane, according to Business News.  

An airline spokesperson said a row broke out between passengers which led to a delay of five hours, and confirmed that an investigation into the incident is underway.

The flight landed at its destination at around 5am following the disturbance.

The airline spokesperson confirmed that cabin crew had to ask for the assistance of security teams to calm down tensions before the plane eventually took off.

Airline spokesman Ghassen Ouji said: 'This fight caused a delay of five hours and financial losses were suffered by the company.' 

The investigation is ongoing.

This article has been adapted from its original source.