An Alaskan Airlines flight had to be abandoned after a crazed passenger grabbed a woman’s hair and refused to let go.

       Viral footage online shows the strange incident which happened on February 1 on Alaska Airlines Flight 2221 at California's Oakland International Airport just before taking off to Portland, Oregon.

       In the video, a man with short grey hair and glasses can be seen grabbing hold of the woman’s hair whilst an unnamed male flight attendant is forced to punch him in order to free the locks from the man’s clutches.

       It is unclear what started the behaviour which required the help of several passengers to restrain the man but, according to a man who said he was on the flight, “he was restrained for several minutes before being arrested”.

       The aircraft returned to its gate after the man was removed by police but the flight was abandoned “after an attendant refused to fly and could not be replaced,” according to the passenger.

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       Alaska Airlines told DailyMail.com that the male passenger “appeared to be experiencing a violent medical episode that involved an ongoing physical assault against other passengers and our crew”.

       They added: “Our flight attendants’ highest responsibility is the safety of guests and crew on board. Our crew responded to this chaotic situation quickly and kept all guests safe until law enforcement could intervene.

       “The guest in question has been banned from Alaska and Horizon due to the nature of the physical assault”.

       The video begins with the flight attendant repeatedly striking the man in a bid to dislodge the woman’s hair from his grasp.

       He punched him in the throat and head as the lady screamed: “Let go of my hair, sir!”

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       Others help to subdue the man who eventually releases the woman’s hair and is restrained as the man begins to scream loudly in his seat, rocking back and forth.

       A traveller who claimed he was on the flight said: “We were about to take off from OAK to PDX but this dude started saying weird stuff and rocking back and forth.

       “A flight attendant was called then he grabbed the woman’s hair in front of him and wouldn’t let go so the flight attendant started punching him in the throat.

       “He was restrained for several minutes before being arrested. The flight was cancelled after an attendant refused to fly and could not be replaced. The lady said he said he was an alcoholic on five medications before he started repeating himself and glitching out”.

       A lady who said that she was the one who had her hair pulled has spoken out. She said: “Thank you for this video. I am the woman whose hair was grabbed. My hair was not in anyone’s way to provoke anyone to grab it.

       “The man was having a psychotic episode, banged his head multiple times on the back of my seat, shortly lost consciousness, regained consciousness and grabbed my hair close to the scalp.

       “Had I leaned forward with him grabbing my hair, he could have pulled my hair out. I was afraid this man was going to punch me in the head and I am thankful for the FA and other passengers who stepped in to help.”