Police were called to escort two people off a Jetstar flight, following a mid-air incident where punches were allegedly thrown and fellow passengers were forced to intervene.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) confirmed it was investigating the case, which saw the 27-year-old man and 42-year-old woman escorted off the plane when it landed in Sydney on Wednesday afternoon.

A fight allegedly broke out between the two passengers midway through the journey from Phuket to Australia.

Finance expert Scott Haywood told Melbourne radio station 3AW he was among a group of passengers who were forced to restrain the pair.

Mr Haywood said the fight started after the woman reclined her seat back onto the man’s mother.

It prompted the man to thump the woman’s chair, and then the argument became physical.

“In the area there were about 12 of us who saw it all and they were certainly laying into each other,” he told 3AW.

Mr Haywood said the incident was “distressing” but there were no serious injuries, with the two families separated in different sections of the plane.

The AFP confirmed the pair were escorted from the plane.

“Investigations remain ongoing and as such, it would not be appropriate to comment further,” a spokesman said.

In a statement provided to several media outlets, Jetstar said it did not tolerate “disruptive behaviour” on its flights.

“We will conduct a review with a view to banning these passengers travelling with us in the future,” the airline said.