A British Easyjet crew subdued an irate German passenger who had threatened to open the cabin door at 30,000 feet, police in Berlin said.

Flight attendants on the Airbus traveling from Napes, Italy, to Berlin said one of the 145 passengers, a 31-year-old German man, asked to move away from a pair of British passengers after an altercation that involved the man biting one of the Britons, The Daily mail reported Monday.

Police said they do not know what started the argument.

"The German passenger asked to be seated in a row away from the British and this wish was granted but after a short while he got up and started walking towards the flight deck," said Meik Gauer, spokesman for the Federal Police in Berlin.

Gaur said the German man attempted to open the cabin door -- an action authorities said would have caused the plane to disintegrate as a result of the rapid decompression.

Flight attendants wrestled the man into submission and the pilot radioed authorities on the ground. The man was led from the plane in handcuffs at Berlin's Schoenefeld Airline and charged with assault and endangering the safety of an aircraft. He could face five years in prison if convicted.