Unruly passenger diverts Melb-Perth flight

An unruly passenger who caused a flight from Melbourne to Perth to be unexpectedly diverted to Adelaide is still assisting police with inquiries over the incident.

The "disruptive" female passenger was forcibly removed from the plane by Australian Federal Police officers after it made the diversion to Adelaide Airport just after midnight on Friday, Virgin Australia confirmed.

The plane took off again at 1am, arriving in Perth in the early hours of Friday morning.

Other passengers took to social media to describe the woman's behaviour, with Jeremy Laird writing in a tweet she had been making death threats.

"So now I'm in Adelaide airport because there was a nutter on the plane yelling death threats. Wondering if we will take off again for Perth?" he wrote.

Another passenger who wrote on social media he was on the flight said the woman appeared "very distressed".

"Passenger was experiencing some mental illness. No one was at any actual risk at any point - empty threat from very distressed person," he tweeted.

The Australian Federal Police confirmed on Friday evening no charges had been laid against the woman but that she was still assisting them with their enquiries.

They would not confirm whether or not the woman was in custody.