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Plane passenger arrested after officer attacked

Getty Images/Kinga Krzeminska A close-up of the back of a garda officer's uniform. He is wearing a yellow high-viz vest over a navy uniform. Getty Images/Kinga Krzeminska
Officers attached to the Dublin Airport Garda Station boarded the aircraft

A garda (Irish police) officer has been subjected to a "sustained" assault after boarding a US flight in Dublin to deal with a report of a disruptive passenger.

Gardaí were called in on Tuesday morning by the crew of the United Airlines flight which was travelled from Newark to Dublin.

The assault began when officers approached the passenger, a man in his 40s.

Gardaí said they used pepper spray to stop the attack but the suspect fled the aircraft. A short time later they made an arrest.

The man was charged with assault and offences under the Air Navigation and Transport Act.

The injured garda officer was treated in hospital for non-life threatening injuries.