Andrew Gilmour and Jacqueline Smith were taken off the plane Tuesday after it was diverted to Lyon, France, the Daily Mirror reported.

Passengers said both Smith and Gilmour were drunk. Smith, they said, became so violent she bit Gilmour in the cheek, drawing blood.

One witness said the couple began fighting soon after the plane, operated by Thomas Cook, took off from Hurghada.

"Suddenly they were screaming at each other and swearing," the witness said. "Punches were being thrown and young children were watching horrified. They were yanking each other's hair and trying to scratch their eyes out. When the woman bit her partner's face there was blood everywhere and people gasped in disgust."

Because the plane had only one set of passenger restraints on board, passengers had to hold one of the battlers until the landing in France.

French police took the couple into custody while the flight continued on to Manchester.