The drunk and disorderly bunch had already been cautioned by Scottish police before the plane even took off from Prestwick airport.

Officers had to offer advice to Ryanair cabin crew on how to deal with the group’s loutish behaviour, after two of the men caused a scene when being refused permission to board.

“Police came on and had a word with them but never took off the ones who should’ve been taken off,” fellow passenger Fiona Black told Scottish newspaper the Daily Record.

After a 30-minute delay, the plane took off and the loutishness continued mid-air.

“They were idiots the whole flight. I think the stewards confiscated about ten bottles of vodka from them,” Black told the Daily Record.

Holidaymakers, including many families with children, were forced to use only the toilets at the front end of the plane as the drunken mob turned the back end into a no-go zone.

“There was one guy in particular who was singling out one of the stewardesses,” Black recalled.

“He was walking behind her when she was doing the drinks trolley and was pretending to have sex with her.

“One steward, who was trying to defend the female staff, was squared up to and it seemed like he was going to be punched.

“It could just suddenly flare up, you just don’t know.”

Ryanair’s cabin crew asked passengers to act as witnesses, with the intention of reporting the 30-strong group’s behaviour when they returned.

After a gruelling three hours, Spanish Civil Guard police removed and detained a number of individuals at Ibiza airport.

Ryanair has since sent out an official apology to passengers, stressing that safety was their key concern.