A group of 18 Chinese tourists that was stuck in England when severe weather closed that country's main airport last week was expected to finally return to Beijing on the weekend after several extra days in London.

They were among many tourists from Beijing who became stranded when heavy snow blanketed Europe, said Phoebe Wang, an employee with UK-based Omega Travel, a leading travel agency and tour operator.

According to Wang, the 18-person group should have flown out with British Airways on Dec 20 but the flight out of Heathrow was cancelled because of the extreme weather.