Islamabad, Sep 16 (IANS): A London-bound Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flight was delayed for over three hours after a physical brawl between the pilot and a steward.

According to a source, flight PK-757 Lahore-London was ready for departure at 9 p.m. on Saturday when suddenly pilot Anwaar Chaudhry asked the other crew members to make steward Awais Qureshi, whom he called a notorious smuggler, leave the aircraft, reports Dawn news.

Anwaar claimed that in the past Qureshi remained involved in incidents of smuggling during flight duty bringing bad name to the airline.

A brawl took place between the two, attracting attention of the other crew members who supported the pilot.

As a result, the source said, the flight got delayed for three hours, sparking agitation from the passengers who stood up and raised slogans against the PIA management.

The flight later departed at around midnight.

The PIA spokesperson confirmed the incident on Sunday, saying an inquiry had been launched to ascertain facts.

However, he attributed the flight delay to the late arrival of another flight from Manchester.