Lufthansa Technik Malta is waiting to find out what to do with seven aircraft in its hangar belonging to Sicilian budget airline which ceased operating over the weekend.

“Lufthansa Technik Malta Ltd has seven Windjet aircraft in its hangar and is awaiting instructions from the owner of the aircraft on how to proceed. LTM regretfully hears of Windjet’s news,” the spokesman said.

A spokesman for Air Malta said the national airline had “absolutely no relationship” with the low cost carrier.

Air Malta has a code-sharing agreement with Meridiana to operate flights to Sicily.

Windjet stopped operations on Sunday with the Italian aviation authority threatening to revoke its operating licence after it left thousands of passengers stranded. The authority said Windjet had about 300,000 bookings through October.

The cash-strapped airline has been having talks with Italy’s national carrier, Alitalia, over a possible takeover since January but these have failed. A last-ditch meeting is expected to be held in Rome today following the intervention of Italy’s Economic Development Minister.

Italy’s aviation authorities have set up a crisis centre to help stranded passengers at the beginning of the busiest holiday week of the year.

Grounded passengers are being offered seats on other airlines including Alitalia and easyJet but have complained that they are being asked to pay for their new tickets as well as airport taxes.

The Sicilian no-frills airline operates mainly domestic services but also flies to destinations in France, Russia and Spain. It has a fleet of 11 A319s and A320s.