Exporters are hoping lobster from Nova Scotia will get to Europe this week. (CBC)

The winter weather in Europe is rattling the nerves of lobster exporters in Nova Scotia, who are preparing for the annual Christmas rush.

The tarmac outside Gateway Facilities ULC at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport was jammed with pallets of shrink-wrapped boxes full of lobster on Sunday.

Michael Wolthers, a branch manager for Kintetsu World Express Inc., said tonnes of healthy Canadian lobsters will be shipped to Europe this week.

"Sixty per cent of it will end up in Europe, going into Belgium to be distributed from there," Wolthers said Sunday, gesturing toward the pallets.

"The other 40 per cent are for Korea and the rest of Asia."

The pallets contain lobster from 15 Nova Scotia companies and are worth about $1.5 million. Wolthers said every hour makes a difference in the sale.

"If these flights were to cancel for some reason tonight, this sale is gone. It wouldn't be there tomorrow," he said.

"It's an important time for the lobster fishermen. Most of their year could depend on these last three weeks of December."

Only a small number of departing flights were expected at London's Heathrow Airport on Sunday as crews worked to clear runways of snow and ice. Incoming flights were not accepted on Sunday.

The only direct flight to London from the Maritimes — out of Halifax — was cancelled Monday for the third consecutive day. An Air Canada spokesperson said the company does not expect to resume normal travel to Heathrow until at least Tuesday.

Doug McRae, the co-owner of Gateway Facilities ULC, said another large shipment of lobster is expected to fly to Belgium on Monday.

"Our challenge right now is the airplane that's coming into Halifax is snowed in in Liège," he said.

"Our first challenge is to get the airplane out of Europe, into North America — into JFK — and up into Halifax."

Wolthers said the forecast in Belgium looks promising over the next few days.

"Certainly our clients have a lot on the line here," he said.

"We're fairly confident where we sit right now but basically we will deal with the stress as it comes. When you're in this industry, you just get used to this. We're moving a product that if it's delayed for three days it's lost."