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A Delta flight from New York to Florida was rerouted on Monday due to passenger disruption - the third incident of its kind in less than a week.

Flight 2370 left New York at about 7pm, en route to West Palm Beach, but was forced to land in Jacksonville after a row broke out over reclining seats.

A spokesman for the airline said: 'Out of an abundance of caution, the captain elected to divert to the closest airport. Local law enforcement met the flight and removed the passenger.'

Flight 2370 was forced to land in Jacksonville due to an undisclosed passenger disturbance (file picture)

Don't lean back: A lack of space on planes has led to heated arguments among passengers (file picture)

According to the airline, the diversion was 'due to safety reasons in regard to a passenger issue' but Florida television station WPTV reported that the plane rerouted due to a row over a reclining seat. 

A witness told the TV station that a female passenger attempted to recline her seat, but the passenger behind her was trying to sleep on the tray table.

A flight attendant was called after an argument broke out, and stayed next to the female passenger until the plane landed, where she was escorted off the plane by police.

The flight later continued on to West Palm Beach, arriving after 11pm.  

The Knee defender, pictured, consists of two small plastic clips which prevent the seat in front reclining

Cosy: A file picture of passengers on a Delta airlines flight. Rows over limited leg room have caused disruption

This is the third similar incident, after diminishing leg room contributed to two clashes just last week.

On Wednesday August 27, a American Airlines Miami to Paris flight landed was rerouted to Boston after air marshals had to restrain a man as two passengers came to blows when one of them attempted to recline their seat. 

The male passenger continued to be disruptive when a  crew member tried to calm him, following him down the aisle and grabbing his arm.

Two undercover federal air marshals on the flight then subdued and handcuffed him. 

And On Sunday August 24, a fight started on a United Airlines flight when a male passenger resorted to using a Knee Defender, a £13 gadget designed to prevent the person in front from reclining.

The Knee Defender clips over the arm of the seat tray, circled,  and prevents the seat in front from reclining

The device is not currently outlawed by airline authorities but its use is controversial as it causes rows 

A female passenger, sitting in the middle of Row 11 tried to recline, but found she couldn't. When it emerged that the man in the seat behind had attached a Knee Defender, she asked a member of cabin crew to remove it.

He refused, saying that he would no longer be able to work on his laptop, and the situation escalated, with the woman hurling a glass of water in the man's face.

The New Jersey-to-Denver flight was diverted to Chicago, and both of the passengers were booted off.

Reclining has long been a contentious issue, with surveys finding that as many as nine out of ten passengers believing that reclining seats should be banned on shorter flights.

There is even a campaign on business networking site LinkedIn to make airlines remove reclinable seats on short-haul journeys.