A drunk passenger punched a police officer in the face in a brawl aboard a UK flight to Mallorca that was kicked off by a 'lover's tiff'.

Passengers were left frightened as the drunkard clashed with multiple Spanish guards who boarded the plane to remove him last Tuesday.

Ritchie Denholm, 40, watched through his phone's camera in shock as he recorded the moment the rowdy man hit one of the officers in the face.

He said that a man and a woman had boarded the plane and were already extremely 'drunk' as they sat at the front of the aircraft on the Ryanair flight from Edinburgh Airport to Palma de Mallorca Airport.

Footage from Mr Denholm shows that after the man punches the officer, they quickly subdue him and appear to beat him down several times behind the row of seats. 

'They were very drunk before leaving Edinburgh, lover's tiff and it all started,' Mr Denholm, from Edinburgh, told NeedToKnow.

'The crew intervened until landing, then when they found out they're getting arrested they started again.

'Some passengers were scared and shocked.'

Footage shows the Spanish officers making their way towards the rowdy pair at the front of the plane, with others coming further down to the back, seemingly making sure the plane is secure.

As things start to kick off and the man grapples with the cops and punches one in the face, the guards leap into action - one strides over from the back while the group at the front work to detain the man.

The video cuts to what looks like three officers holding the drunk man down. Meanwhile, one officer appears to be on top of the man, beating him with his fists below the seat, while another behind him hits him with a baton.

Ritchie said: 'If I'm honest they should've been battered more.

'No one should put anyone at risk on a flight considering things that have happened on flights in the past.

'There should be more security on flights to stop anyone intoxicated getting on.'

Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary recently called for a banning of early morning pre-flight pints being served at airports, precisely because of brawls like these.

The airline boss said that his planes are now having to be diverted almost daily because of drunken and aggressive passengers, and the problem is getting worse.

He previously said: 'I fail to understand why anybody in airport bars is serving people at five or six o'clock in the morning. Who needs to be drinking beer at that time?'

He added: 'There should be no alcohol served at airports outside [those] licensing hours.'

Mr O'Leary said flights to party destinations from Britain like Mallorca, Ibiza, Alicante and Tenerife have been particularly problematic. 

However, this was met with rebuttal by Wetherspoons chief Sir Tim Martin, whose pubs have a large presence in UK airports.

He said this 'Big Brother' approach was 'draconian' and banning the 'British tradition' could lead to passengers being breathalysed before flying.

He argued that the pub chain - which has eight locations in UK airports - makes most of its money from food, soft drinks, tea and coffee sales rather than alcohol. 

Airport Wetherspoon pubs are 'highly supervised' and have policies to stop excessive drinking too, Sir Tim said.

It's passengers coming in from other airports where 'controls are perhaps less' which make the problem worse, Sir Tim said, adding that this was a view 'shared by Mr O'Leary'.

Ryanair has been approached for a comment.