Passengers were furious when their flight from India to Thailand was delayed when the pilot refused to fly beyond his duty hours.

IndiGo flight 6E 1085 was scheduled to depart Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai at 4:05 am local time, bound for Krabi International Airport on Thursday.

However, the plane remained grounded for more than three hours as the captain refused to take off.

Footage shows a heated argument between frustrated travellers and a cabin crew member on board an Airbus A320.

One holidaymaker was seen kicking the plane's exit door while the crew tried to calm the situation.

A passenger shouted: 'What about our plans that we have had?'

Another woman said: 'Why the f*** is he hiding like a fucking rat?'

An IndiGo spokesman said the flight was delayed due to a combination of factors, including the late arrival of the incoming aircraft, air traffic congestion, and the crew exceeding their duty time limits.

The airline added: 'Two of the customers onboard behaved inappropriately during the wait time and were declared unruly.

'As per protocol, they were deboarded and handed over to the security agencies, resulting in further delays.'

'We remain committed to ensuring a safe and respectful environment for all and regret the inconvenience caused to our customers.'

Local media reported that meals and refreshments were served multiple times to ease passengers' wait.

Tracking data shows the aircraft landed in Krabi at 1:13 pm, nearly three hours behind its scheduled arrival of 10 am.