Two arrested after mid-air brawl over refusal to wear face masks on KLM flight to Ibiza

A frightening mid-air brawl has broken out on a flight to Ibiza after two men refused to wear face masks.

Pandemonium erupted as punches were thrown soon after the KLM Boeing 737 filled with British holiday-makers took off from Amsterdam for the Spanish island on Friday.

Masks are mandatory on board KLM flights and at airports in the Netherlands but two passengers at the centre of the drama refused to abide by the rule introduced to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

The flight crew was able to restrain the men with the help of other passengers, pinning one man — whose face was bloodied after he was on the receiving end of a number of blows from passengers — to the cabin floor.

The men were arrested by Spanish police on arrival.

Vision of the incident has since gone viral.

SEE THE INCREDIBLE VISION IN THE PLAYER ABOVE

Several people involved in the brawl were not wearing masks or had them pushed down away from their faces.

While other passengers shouted “Stop now, there are kids over here!”

Social media user @michigclub, who posted the original video, said an “unruly” English passenger who had been drinking Grey Goose vodka was at the centre of the drama.

“Panic and violent brawl! Unruly English passenger on board KLM flight to Ibiza, he had been drinking Grey Goose @greygoose vodka. They refused to wear facemasks and their behavior towards other passengers was hostile. 2 arrests were made,” they wrote.

In a statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for the airline said: “Two unruly passengers refused to wear their face masks, and they were bothering their fellow passengers physically and verbally”.

“The pilot informed the local authorities and upon arrival, both passengers were arrested. The flight safety was not compromised during the flight.”