The decision to turn the plane back to the take-off airport was made by a pilot when a passenger on the flight, in a rage, attacked a flight attendant.

The incident happened today, on an Air India flight from Delhi to London, with 255 passengers.

About a quarter after takeoff, a man assaulted a flight attendant and began pulling her hair. The passenger – for an as yet unknown reason – also attacked and started hitting other crew members who tried to help their colleague and calm him down.

After warnings, the pilot eventually decided to return to Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport and the police, who had been alerted, arrested the passenger and removed him from the plane.

“We are providing all possible support to the crew members who became victims of the attack. We regret the inconvenience caused to passengers and have rescheduled the flight,” the company said in a statement.