The Maltese squad's journey to Estonia has hit a snag after the connection flight from Amsterdam to Tallinn was cancelled, Times of Malta has learnt.

Malta are due to play Estonia in a friendly match on Wednesday evening as part of their preparations for their opening 2018 World Cup qualifier against Scotland at the National Stadium on Sunday.

The players convened at the Malta International Airport in the early hours of this morning to start their long journey to Estonia but upon arriving at the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, they were told that their booked flight to Tallinn had been cancelled.

The reasons behind the flight cancellation are not yet known.

It is understood that Malta FA general secretary Bjorn Vassallo, who is heading the Maltese contingent, has been frantically trying to find an alternative route to fly the squad to Tallinn later today but this is proving somewhat difficult.

Attempts to contact Mr Vassallo were unsuccessful. Sources say the squad might stay overnight in Amsterdam.

In the meantime, the three foreign-based players in Pietro Ghedin’s squad, Boavista striker Andrè Schembri, Arezzo defender Zach Muscat and Barnet FC winger Luke Gambin, are on their way to Tallinn via different routes as they will be joining the Malta squad in Estonia.