He was held after allegedly touching the cabin crew member’s bottom and nipples “in a lewd way” during the flight to Palma.

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He is said to have got up from his seat and approached the flight attendant in an “affectionate way” before touching him up.

Other passengers helped restrain him until the plane landed in Majorca.

Police were waiting for the man, believed to be aged around 40, and took him away in handcuffs after radioing for reinforcements after he allegedly became aggressive towards the first officers to arrive.

The detainee, who was wearing a white pair of shorts and a T-shirt as well as matching white sandals with black socks when he was arrested, has not been named.

The bizarre incident occurred yesterday and the suspect was taken to court in the Majorcan capital today for a hearing which took place behind closed doors.

Well-placed sources said the UK national was aged 43.

Respected local newspaper Ultima Hora reported he initially told the investigating judge he had wanted to play a joke on the air steward but subsequently offered conflicting versions of why he had acted the way he had which were “incoherent.”

He was released on bail pending an ongoing investigation.

It was not immediately clear today if he has been banned from leaving Majorca and had his passport taken away or is free to leave the island while he continues to be probed on suspicion of sexual assault and resisting arrest.

The airline operating the flight has not been named.

Last month a British holidaymaker was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting an air stewardess before spitting on her boss on a Jet2 flight from Manchester to Ibiza.

The 42-year-old was held by police after reaching the island.

Jet2 confirmed after the arrest it had banned him from flying with them.

As well as prosecution the tourist was also warned he faced a heavy fine.

Overnight it emerged four men on an easyJet plane from Manchester to Tenerife had been hauled off an aircraft yesterday after it had to be diverted to Lanzarote.

Spanish air traffic controllers said the reroute occurred because of violent passengers on board.

And in another incident yesterday two British women described as “drunk” were met by police around 1.30pm as a second easyJet plane coming from Luton landed in Fuerteventura.

Local reports said they had been identified by cops after being accused of an air safety breach.

A spokesman for the Civil Guard in Majorca said: “I can confirm the arrest of a British man yesterday at Palma Airport on suspicion of sexual assault.

“He allegedly sexually assaulted a flight attendant on a plane from Newcastle to Palma.”