The Flyglobespan aircraft was preparing to leave Alicante for Aberdeen when 43 of the 140 people on board decided not to take the flight.

They became concerned after fuel overflowed from the plane's wing.

Flyglobespan insisted the plane had been perfectly safe to fly and apologised for the disruption.

The company said it was now making efforts to return the affected passengers to Scotland.

The Boeing 737 was due to leave Alicante at 2250 BST on Monday.

The panic started when passengers saw firefighters spraying foam on the areas affected by the fuel.

The flight was delayed for two hours while the 43 people disembarked and their luggage was removed.

Some passengers reported hysterical scenes on board the plane.

A Flyglobespan spokesman said: "The airline's position, which has been confirmed by Boeing, was there was absolutely nothing wrong with the plane, it was perfectly safe.

"Three of the passengers panicked and it spread a bit."

"The captain reassured them there was nothing wrong, but if people don't want to fly we can't make them fly."

The spokesman said two of the three passengers who had initially raised concerns had decided to stay on the flight.

He said instances of planes being over-fuelled were "not infrequent".

"We apologise for the disruption that delay caused to the vast majority of the passengers on the plane who were happy to travel," the spokesman addded.