A NEW Year's Day flight from Tenerife to Newcastle was diverted following the 'increasingly aggressive behaviour' of a passenger towards cabin crew.

The pilot of the Jet2 aircraft decided to make an unscheduled landing at Shannon Airport, in Ireland, leading to frustrating delays for passengers, who finally arrived in Newcastle some four hours late.

Mail Online and BreakingNews.ie reported the incident, which could result in a 42-year-old woman facing criminal charges and a lifetime ban from the airline.

The woman was allegedly intoxicated and become so disruptive that flight crew decided to make the diversion so she could be removed by police.

A total of 161 passengers and six crew were aboard the Boeing 737-800.

The decision to divert was reportedly taken while the plane was flying over the Atlantic Ocean, about two hours into its journey to the UK.

A Jet2 spokesperson said: "Flight LS518 from Tenerife to Newcastle diverted to Shannon on Friday night to offload a passenger who was reportedly showing increasingly aggressive behaviour towards our cabin crew.

"The female was handed over to the local police and we will be working closely with the relevant authorities to pursue any necessary action.

"As part of our Onboard Together initiative we have empowered our crew to take whatever action necessary to protect both passengers and themselves from offensive and anti-social behaviour.

"The safety and welfare of our customers and staff is always our number one priority."

After being escorted from the plane and questioned, the woman was released without charge.

BreakingNews.ie reported that a police file will be sent to the director of public prosecutions for consideration.

Jet2 last year handed lifetime bans to dozens of abusive or disruptive passengers.