As Europe waits for the snow to subside, Maltese families are keeping their fingers crossed that their loved ones will make it home for Christmas.

One headmaster, who spoke to The Times, was yesterday waiting it out at Heathrow Airport with 47 sixth form students, hoping their Air Malta flight – which should have left London on Sunday – would finally bring them home.

Things were not looking good at 4 p.m. as the flight was delayed further. The last news they had was that if snow subsided they would be able to take off at around 10 last night.

“The students are enjoying the adventure and even though a few burst out crying, there is a generally good feeling,” De La Salle College headmaster John Portelli said.

Together with five teachers, Mr Portelli coordinated the extra night’s stay for the students at the same hotel, which he said was “lucky” seeing so many passengers were stranded.

If the plane failed to leave another time, he said, the students would have to set up camp at the airport. “There is no way I’m going to catch the tube back to central London with 47 students plus suitcases.”

At the airport there was a mixture of emotions – while some remained quiet, others entertained themselves with each other’s frustrated telephone conversations, he said. The headmaster, however, emphasised how helpful the airline’s customer care service was during their time there.

“My worry is that the plane is overbooked and there won’t be enough place for everybody on board.”

Other people were not so lucky in finding a flight home. Paul John Vella was supposed to be flying back on Sunday with Easyjet but his flight was cancelled. The earliest incoming flight he has now managed to book is on Thursday from Luton with Ryanair.

His situation is not so dire, however, as “luckily” he is staying with a friend and the extra days there served as an extended holiday.

“Things here are business as usual,” Mr Vella said, grateful he was not stuck inside and could still travel around the city.

Things are not rosy in Brussels either, as yesterday’s flight cancellation meant John Schranz’s three-year-old boy missed the birthday cake his grandmother had prepared for him on his special day today.

“The only flight out is on Christmas Eve and since we return on the 27th, that’s no good for us,” the frustrated gentleman, who lives in Brussels, said.

To top it all, the airline’s customer care told him they were not obliged to give refunds, meaning he would lose some €600 if they did not catch the Christmas Eve flight.

“It just shows that the airline lacks knowledge of EU law. I hope for the airline’s sake that I got through to a bad customer care employee,” he said. As chilly temperatures spread across northern Europe over the past weeks, thousands of flights and train services have been cancelled, leaving travellers stranded.

Twenty-four local flights have been cancelled since Friday – 12 coming to Malta and 12 outgoing. Yesterday, very few flights were leaving London Heathrow, Europe’s busiest airport, and there were many other cancellations in other major airports, including Paris and Frankfurt.

Departures from Brussels were to be cancelled until tomorrow due to a lack of de-icing liquid.

The UK, France and Germany are the worst hit, with freezing temperatures forecast all week.