Dirk Feldman, part of a parliamentary delegation on the way to India, apparently decided he needed to get off the plane and began fiddling with the emergency doors, according to reports.

"The Speaker of the National Assembly, Mr Max Sisulu, and the Chairperson of the National Council of Provinces, Mr Mninwa Mahlangu, have since ordered, Mr Feldman... to go back home," chief whip Dennis Bloem said.

"We await a full report on the [incident] from Mr Mahlangu's office and will only be able to communicate further details at a later stage."

He said Cope would however not tolerate any misconduct by its MPs.

Bloem told Beeld newspaper on Sunday: "He had too much to drink and they say he lost his inhibitions."

SAA's head of internal flight services, Martin Kemp, said such incidents occurred infrequently.

Parliament said in a statement on Sunday a decision on further action would be taken once reports from witnesses and SAA had been received.