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A Birmingham flight to Turkey had to make an emergency landing this evening after disorder broke out between passengers.

The Monarch flight to Dalaman was grounded in Bulgaria after six passengers were allegedly ‘drinking their own alcohol’, ‘smoking in the toilets’, and ‘grabbing female staff’.

Police boarded the plane at approximately 6.20pm and the passengers were detained at Sofia airport to be questioned.

Meanwhile other travellers had to stay on board while the airport authorities dealt with the incident, before continuing onto its final destination.

A spokeswoman from Monarch Airlines said: "Flight ZB908 from Birmingham to Dalaman diverted to Sofia airport in Bulgaria.

"This was due to six disruptive passengers. The flight was met in Sofia by police and the six passengers were removed from the flight.

"The flight then continued to Dalaman. Monarch would like to apologise to the many other customers on board this flight for the delay in getting them to their holiday destination.

"Monarch operate a zero tolerance policy to disruptive behaviour onboard to ensure the safety and security of our customers and crew. "