Two groups of Chinese tourists who were arrested on Sunday after fighting on a plane at an airport in Phuket, Thailand, have been released after the two sides reconciled.

Two men cursed each other for several minutes and then they got into a physical conflict on the plane at the Phuket International Airport, according to a passenger surnamed Ding.

One man was beaten heavily by several men while he was sitting in his seat and received facial injuries. Another woman was beaten and had blood around her mouth, the Chutian Metropolis Daily reported on Monday.

Crew members tried to persuade the two groups to stop, but "the aisle was narrow, and the people were hysterical at that time, they did not stop," a staff member from the airline told the newspaper.

The crew had to call airport police to stop the fight, as it was endangering the safety of the flight. Thailand police arrived at the site and took away those involved. Some relatives of the people involved also chose to stay in Thailand. In total, 29 people remained there.

The cause of the fight was reportedly due to the wife in a couple with a child, who expected to change seats with someone beside her husband. The husband then quarreled with the wife and cursed her, but the man beside her thought the husband had pointed at him.

The plane was set to take off at 4:20 am to Wuhan, and it finally took off one hour late.

China Eastern Airlines confirmed to the Global Times that one of its flights from Phuket to Wuhan was set to take off at 4:20 am.