WATCH: Elderly Egyptian man violently dragged off plane

A video has emerged of police violently removing an Egyptian man from a plane in the Romanian capital Bucharest, Egyptian media have reported.

The footage shows panicked scenes earlier this week onboard the Romanian Air Transport (TAROM) plane before it was set to take off to Cairo as police violently forced the elderly man to get off.

The distressing footage has been widely viewed in Egypt, with some accusing Romanian authorities of racial prejudice.

TAROM said in an online statement on Friday that the incident was "regrettable" but that police had removed the man after his wife had spat at a member of the cabin crew.

The statement said that the man's Moroccan wife had been told to move from the exit row of seats because she could not speak English or Romanian and would not be able to understand instructions in case of an emergency.

It added that she spat at a member of staff during an argument over her being moved, prompting the pilot to order the woman and her family to be removed from the plane.

The family was removed from the plane and fined for public disturbance, according to Romanian media.

They later flew to Cairo on a different airlines.

The Egyptian man has accused cabin crew of "disrespectful behaviour" towards his wife.

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