Snow and ice on the wings prevented the plane from taking off for Sicily, Italy as scheduled at 5.40pm. Passengers waited for five hours on board without food and water.

“We are not getting any food or any water. There are babies here. It is totally crazy,” Charlotta Raffone, who was on board along with her husband and two children, told newspaper Göteborgs-Posten (GP) late on Wednesday.

The passengers requested the cabin crew get them something to eat and drink. However, the pilot refused the requests, saying that they could not sell refreshments while still on the ground. At the same time, no one was allowed to leave the plane.

According to Gothenburg City Airport airport director Göran Hall, such decisions are the responsibility of the airline.

“When the aircraft doors close, it is the airline that decides,” Hall told GP.

Attempts to de-ice the wings were unsuccessful. The passengers were finally allowed to leave the plane at 11pm.

“They had to get off because the airport closes at 11pm”, Hall told Sveriges Radio Gothenburg.

Passengers waited until Thursday, when the plane finally took off at 12.30pm.