Fighter jets ground KLM jet after US passenger starts brawl on plane

The Dutch Air Force's F-16s armed with air-to-air missiles are only scrambled in highly unusual cases. Photo / Horacio Villalobos, Getty Images

An American passenger who "became aggressive" on a flight prompted the Dutch air force to send two F-16 Fighter jets to escort the plane to its destination.

The passenger, who has not been named started a fight onboard KLM airline's Saturday flight from Abu Dhabi to Amsterdam while they were flying over Germany – about 30 minutes before the plane was set to land at Schiphol airport.

Joanna Helmonds, a spokeswoman for the country's border police, said: "A 29-year-old American man became aggressive after being asked by a purser to return to his seat".

"A scuffle broke out and the cabin crew, together with other passengers managed to restrain the man," she told The Straits Times.

Schiphol Airport: The incident happend 30 minutes before landing. Photo / Getty Images

Herlmond said multiple passengers were wounded on the flight, including two who were given black eyes during the altercation.

The plane was given special clearance to land immediately at the airport, where police came to meet them.

The man was arrested and was examined at the airport, where he appeared disorientated.

Straits Times reports the man was admitted to a psychiatric institution for further evaluation.

A spokeswoman for the airline told news agency AFP that KLP "regretted the unpleasant incident," and that "passengers and crew have laid a complaint against the man".

The Airbus was then given special clearance to land immediately at Schiphol airport with police arresting the man shortly afterwards.

Although on high alert, Dutch fighter jets - which are armed with air-to-air missiles - are only scrambled in highly unusual cases, the Dutch air force said on Saturday.

The Airbus A330-200 has a capacity of around 250 passengers and has a range of almost 13,500km.

KLM's A330-200 have a range of almost 13,500km. Photo / C. V. Grinsven, Getty Images

It was not known how many passengers were on the flight from Abu Dhabi.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force (USAF).

Over 4,500 aircraft have been built since production was approved in 1976.

In addition to active duty in the U.S. Air Force, Air Force Reserve Command, and Air National Guard units, the aircraft is also used by the USAF aerial demonstration team, the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, and as an adversary/aggressor aircraft by the United States Navy.

The F-16 has also been procured to serve in the air forces of 25 other nations, including Holland.