A plane has reportedly been forced to make an emergency landing after a passenger's "unbearable" body odour caused other passengers around him to vomit and faint.

The Mirror UK reported that the Transavia flight to the Spanish holiday island of Gran Canaria was forced to make an unexpected detour when travellers became distressed by the stench of a man who "smelt like he hadn't washed in weeks".

YEN.com.gh gathered that the man smelt so bad other passengers started to faint and vomit after the flight took off from Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands.

Passengers are seen re-boarding the plane at Faro Airport in Portugal. Credit: CEN
Staff on board the Transavia service allegedly tried to quarantine him in a toilet of the Boeing 737 before the pilots were forced to divert the flight.

They reportedly landed in Faro in southern Portugal so the foul-smelling man could be removed from the flight.

The unidentified man was reportedly escorted off the plane by medical staff and placed on an airport bus.

A picture taken by one of the passengers shows medical personnel escorting the man from the aeroplane into a bus.

The man was escorted off the plane by medical staff and placed on an airport bus. Credit: CEN
One of the passengers on board the plane, Piet van Haut, described the stench of the man as "unbearable".

He said: "It was like he hadn't washed himself for several weeks. Several passengers got sick and had to puke."

Transavia, an airline service company, reportedly confirmed the emergency landing saying it was due to "medical reasons".

It is, however, not known if the medical reasons related to the man or other passengers on the plane who were reportedly ill due to the stench.

A Transavia spokesman said: "The aeroplane diverted because of medical reasons, but it is indeed right that he smelled quite a bit."