Tony Danza vomits on plane

Actor Tony Danza caused havoc onboard an American Airlines flight to New York over the weekend when he vomited into a paper bag and sparked fears of a mid-air virus outbreak.

First class passengers onboard the jet from Los Angeles rushed to swap seats to distance themselves from the sick Taxi star amid fears he was suffering the highly contagious norovirus.

Model Kate Upton was reportedly sitting nearby when Danza fell sick.

He reportedly stated he had caught a bout of influenza "from his grandson", but a friend of the actor later told New York Post gossip column Page Six the star had contracted a "24-hour stomach bug", adding "(He is) doing much better."

Norovirus is a viral infection that causes acute nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea, and has affected thousands of people internationally over the festive period.