German police detained two British women on a Greece to Manchester flight after one of them tried to open the plane's cabin door at an altitude of 10,000 metres, forcing the pilot to make an emergency landing.

Hartmut Scherer, a spokesman for police at Frankfurt International Airport, said the holiday plane flying from Kos to Manchester made the unscheduled landing on Friday after the women, aged 27 and 26, became violent with flight attendants over Austria.

The 26-year-old woman repeatedly tried to strike a flight attendant with a vodka bottle she had carried with her on the plane after the crew refused to serve the two any more alcohol. She then tried unsuccessfully to unlatch a nearby cabin door.

"She evidently wanted to get some fresh air and tried to open the door, which obviously did not work," he said on Saturday. The women calmed down after being threatened with coercive detention.

The two women were detained and blood tests showed extremely high blood alcohol levels, Scherer said. They face charges of grievous bodily harm and violating air traffic regulations. The plane flew on to Manchester with a two-hour delay.

German media said the airline will charge the women for the cost of the diversion.