US fighter jets were scrambled and an airliner diverted after a European model who sneaked a cat on board the flight became unruly.

The passenger, reported by The Denver Post and CBS News to be Czech model Zaneta Hucikova, is now sitting in an immigration detention centre on suspicion of a visa violation.

Czech model Zaneta Hucikova with her cat Victoria, from her Facebook page.

Reports said the woman had the cat in her purse when she boarded the Condor Airlines Boeing 767 flight from Las Vegas to Frankfurt.

Cabin crew decided to put the cat in a toilet, at which point the woman became enraged and punched a female flight attendant in the face.