More than half the passengers on board an Air Europa flight from Tenerife-Sur to Salamanca refused to travel after the pilot advised of a slight technical problem with one of the de-icer valves and proposed that the flight be diverted to Madrid to change planes.

78 of the 165 passengers were eventually persuaded to remain on board, and continued to Madrid on the original Boeing 737-800.

Meanwhile, the 86 others had to be transported by coach to the island's other airport in the north where they were found room on a larger Airbus 330, also bound for the capital.

A company spokesman stressed that the fact that one of the Boeing's de-icer valves was not working properly represented absolutely no danger whatsoever to the safety of the passengers, and urged for something to be done to curb "this current wave of psychosis" about flying because "there is no reason at all" for it.