A Netherlands-US flight was forced to turn around after maggots rained down on passengers from an overhead bin.

Holidaymakers travelling with Delta Air Lines on Tuesday were forced to “fight off” the creatures, which made their way out of a carry-on bag containing a rotten fish brought on to the plane. 

After the bag had been identified by flight attendants, the pilot announced – two hours into the journey to Detroit, Michigan – that they would return to Amsterdam.

The plane was then evacuated to clean up the maggots as passengers were placed on the next available flight.

Philip Schotte, a Netherlands native who lives in Iowa, said he saw the insects cascade on to a woman seated across the aisle from him.

“She was freaking out,” he told Fox 2, a US news outlet based in Detroit. “She was just trying to kind of fight off these maggots.”

“I don’t really know what was going through my mind. I was trying to process it – disgust is one thing of course,” Mr Schotte continued. “We had to wait there for help.”

‘There was an immediate pinching of the nose’

He changed seats as flight attendants traced the falling maggots to a rotten fish, which had been wrapped in newspaper and stored in an overhead compartment.

The man who brought the fish on to the plane then stood up and claimed it. He was kept behind as passengers left the aeroplane when it returned to Amsterdam, the Daily Mail reports.

“I did see everyone’s reaction to the bag being opened, which was just an immediate pinching of the nose,” Mr Scotte, who boarded another flight to the US a few hours later.

It is unclear if the fish’s owner was fined or if any action was taken against him. His bag was removed by flight attendants and was later destroyed.

In a statement reported by US media, Delta apologised to passengers and said: “Their trip was interrupted due to an improperly packed carry-on bag.

“The aircraft returned to the gate and passengers were placed on the next available flight. The aircraft was removed from service for cleaning.”