The departure board at the Halifax airport was a sea of red Saturday (hiaa.ca)

A blizzard hurtling towards the Maritimes is causing major headaches for travellers in the region.

Most of the flights flying out of the Halifax Stanfield International Airport have been cancelled.

"We've got two crews working to keep the runways clear. But the issue is the blowing snow and the visibility. Of course visibility is a huge concern for pilots. The airlines will see what the visibility is when the time comes and that will be their deciding factor," said airport spokeswoman Ashley Gallant.

"Please check with [your] airline ahead of time and anyone who is trying to get to the airport, if they do indeed come, please take extreme caution and drive very carefully."

She said the airlines expect conditions to ease this afternoon.

Passengers flying out of Moncton, Sydney and Charlottetown were having better luck Saturday morning.

It won't be much easier for passengers travelling by bus. The region's inter-provincial bus service, Maritime Bus, has also cancelled all of its scheduled routes today.

Marine Atlantic has also cancelled ferry crossings between North Sydney and Port aux Basques.

CBC meteorologist Jay Scotland said as much as 40 centimetres of snow is possible in Nova Scotia, and wind gusts could reach a maximum of 100 km/h.