Woman removed from plane for 'stabbing' snoring man with pen at Chicago airport

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A plane was unable to take off in the US on Thursday when a man claimed he had been “stabbed” with a pen by a fellow passenger angry at his snoring.

The Southwest Airlines flight from Chicago Midway airport to Manchester, New Hampshire, eventually left two hours later after the woman was removed.

Footage from the plane showed it returning to departure gate, where several police officers boarded and fire engines and ambulances gathered outside.

Lenny Madarski, 68, told ABC 7 television how he dozed off on the runway before being rudely awoken.

“Imagine being asleep and then being stung by bees, and then waking up and going 'owww,'” he said.

“She was smirking…and all I wanted to do was not be sitting next to her.”

A spokesperson for Southwest Airlines said Mr Madarski was not injured and continued on the flight but the woman was put on another plane.

“A passenger was removed from the flight for poking her seatmate with a pen to stop him from snoring,” the company said in a statement.

Michael Sutton, a friend of Mr Madarski who was also on the flight, said police asked if he wanted to press assault charges.

“An old woman just stabbed Lenny (who was sleeping) in the arm with a pen 'cause his arm touched her on the plane,” he wrote on Twitter.

“People don't get kicked off planes or asked if charges should be filed for poking with a pen…the only reason charges were not pressed is because Lenny is a nice guy, not because the situation wasn't serious.”