Ben, 17, was due home on Saturday in plenty of time to take his maths GCSE on Tuesday, but after a cancelled flight and a frantic scrabble for train tickets, he will only just make it.
He is one of thousands of British holiday-makers thought to be stranded abroad, after the cancellation of more than 100 flights over the weekend.
Among them are hundreds of school pupils and some teachers set to miss school on Monday after half-term.
And they face an anxious journey home.
"Ben was going to have a couple of days at home to get his revision in, prepare mentally for it," said his mother Emma, who did not want their surnames used.
