Every airport in the Maritimes is dealing with widespread flight cancellations due to Monday’s major winter storm.
High winds and white out conditions mean arrivals and departures will be delayed until at least Tuesday.
“They said tomorrow, they give us another appointment, so today when I came back I saw that everything is closed,” said traveller Hegg Irabii.
Irabii and his wife are trying to fly back to Morocco. They arrived at the airport Sunday, but the blizzard has them grounded.
“It's wonderful. Wonderful. I like this weather,” Irabii said.
Maintenance staff are storm stayed, too. Roger Savioe says he’ll be looking at a lot of overtime should his shift be extended.
“Supposedly seven and a half, but I could be here for 24 hours,” Savoie said. “If the people who are supposed to come in and relieve me, they don't come in, then we gotta stay.”
All flights in and out of Halifax, Sydney, Fredericton and Saint John are grounded. Travellers in Cape Breton are apparently heeding the warnings and are staying home. The next flight in or out of halifax is an arrival from Florida at 4 a.m. Tuesday.
As for the Irabii's, they'll spend another night at a hotel and have an extra night in a ity he hopes to one day call home.
“I'm happy because this is the first time I see the snow. This is wonderful. At the same time I saw how is life in Canada,” Irabii said.
The Fredericton airport is planning to open at 6 a.m. Tuesday.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis.
