A passenger on board a Jetstar flight, who witnessed a man opening the emergency exit door on arrival into Melbourne, said the dramatic ordeal left her "quite terrified".

Audrey Varghese was on the JQ507 flight from Melbourne to Sydney with a friend when a male passenger opened the emergency exit while the plane was parked at Melbourne Airport's gate 43 about 10am.

The emergency slide was deployed when the exit was opened, but the man walked along the wing and slid down the engine to the ground where he was arrested. 

Ms Varghese told the ABC passengers in the emergency row screamed when the man forced his way past them to open the door.

The 21-year-old said the man had been sitting diagonally opposite her. He had stood up when the plane was taxiing and was told to sit down by cabin crew, which he did.

But when the plane had stopped moving, "he charged towards the front of the plane to the emergency exit row in the middle, pushed past some people, and then he ripped off the emergency exit door", she said.

"I was really shocked at first. My friend and I were talking at the time and then as soon as we heard someone shrieking we sort of froze. We were quite terrified," she said.

Ms Varghese said the cabin crew did a great job of calming the passengers down.

"There were passengers and the cabin crew making sure no one was injured."

Other passengers on the flight were all seated at the time.

In a statement, a Melbourne Airport spokesperson said the passenger was immediately detained by ground staff and arrested. 

"Melbourne Airport is proud of the exceptional response from ground crew, which meant there was no immediate danger to other passengers or airport staff," they said.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said the man was arrested "for aggressive behaviour and breaching aircraft safety protocols."

"The man was assessed by ambulance officers and later transferred to hospital for further assessment," an AFP spokesperson said.

The AFP said charges were likely to be laid at a future date.