About 400 travellers were stuck at the Ottawa International Airport Monday after a winter blast that hit eastern Ontario and western Quebec over the weekend moved east, suspending air travel to the Maritimes.

Many passengers waiting for flights to Halifax told CTV Ottawa they've been in limbo at the airport since late Sunday night when their flight from Ottawa couldn't land in Halifax and was forced to return to the capital.

"They were both scared, crying and stuff like that. I tried to ease them up by telling them a few jokes and that. Myself, I've travelled all across the world and it was probably the worst plane ride I've ever had in my life," said passenger Robert Ford, who experienced extreme turbulence during an unexpected return-trip to Halifax with his wife and daughter.

Snow forces Ont. road closures

Meanwhile, motorists planning to travel to the Lake Huron-Perth region are being warned of several road closures due to snow squalls blowing in off the lake causing poor or zero-visibility.

The closures include Highway 4 from Clinton to Arva, Highway 8 from Goderich to Stratford and Highway 9 from Kincardine to Clifford.

Highway 21 from Grand Bend to Port Elgin, Highway 23 from Elginfield to Mitchell and Highway 7 from Elginfield to Stratford are also closed.

Environment Canada says numerous squalls off Lake Huron are affecting all of the Huron-Perth region.

The main squall lines run from Kincardine to the Stratford and Brantford areas and from Collingwood towards Alliston and Newmarket.

The squalls are expected to dump 15 to 30 centimetres of snow on the region.

Highway 401 reopens

Meanwhile, Ontario provincial police reopened parts of Highway 401 in eastern Ontario after whiteout conditions closed the highway between Kingston and Trenton for a few hours on Sunday.

Highway 401 was also closed in both directions for 20 kilometres on Sunday between Cornwall and South Lancaster, near the Quebec border, due to treacherous road conditions and zero-visibility.

Police say more than 250 collisions were reported in the span of a few hours Sunday morning and afternoon.

With files from The Canadian Press