Ryanair flight forced to make emergency landing as 'unruly passenger' is hauled off plane by Spanish police

Flight attendants requested police assistance before landing at the Spanish airport, where authorities met the aircraft and removed the disruptive individual.

The flight was able to continue its journey to Glasgow Prestwick after the passenger was removed from the aircraft.

The incident caused disruption to other passengers' travel plans, though Ryanair emphasised the situation was beyond their control.

A Ryanair spokesperson confirmed: "The crew called ahead for police assistance, who met the aircraft upon landing at Santander and offloaded this passenger before this flight continued to Glasgow Prestwick."

Ryanair issued an apology to passengers affected by the incident.

"We sincerely apologise to passengers for any inconvenience caused due to this unruly passengers' behaviour, which was beyond Ryanair's control," a spokesperson for the airline said.

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The airline confirmed that the matter has now been handed over to local police authorities for further investigation.

The incident marks one of several recent diversions caused by disruptive passenger behaviour on flights to and from the UK.

Earlier this month, an easyJet flight from Morocco to Glasgow was forced to make an emergency landing in Portugal after a passenger's disruptive behaviour caused safety concerns.

Flight EZY3176 from Agadir to Glasgow diverted to Faro on Tuesday, December 10.

Portuguese police removed the disruptive passenger from the flight, and they were also arrested by authorities.

And just a week before that, a "drunk" businessman sparked chaos on a Jet2 flight after embarking on a booze-fuelled rampage and verbally abused cabin crew.

Lewis Howarth, 36, who runs a building company, had to be dragged off his aircraft to passengers' applause after calling a stewardess a "d**khead" when asked to fasten his seatbelt.

The incident, aboard a flight from Manchester to Dalaman in Turkey, has seen Howarth banned from Jet2 for life - and facing up to two years in jail.