ATA Airlines files for bankruptcy, cancels all flights

— -- A day after filing for bankruptcy, ATA Airlines said Thursday it has canceled all flights following the loss of a key contract for its military charter business.

"We apologize for the disruption caused by the sudden shutdown of ATA and regret the impact on passengers, employees, suppliers, and other parties," said a statement released by the Indianapolis-based airline. "Another factor leading to ATA's bankruptcy and shutdown was the dramatic and unprecedented increase in the price of jet fuel in recent months."

ATA, which mostly operates flights to Hawaii, said it won't directly refund customers. It urged customers who bought tickets with cash or a check to file for "a full or partial refund" via procedures outlined in ATA's Chapter 11 proceedings. "However, such a filing does not guarantee a refund," it said.

Customers who bought tickets using a credit card should seek refunds through credit card companies or travel agencies, it said.

It also won't make any payments for baggage or cargo claims.

Prior to the shutdown, the airline had about 50 flights a day, mostly between Hawaii and four west coast cities — Oakland, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas.

Shayrah Akers, 25, of Sacramento told The Honolulu Advertiser Thursday that she didn't make her flight and doesn't know now how she'll get back home from a vacation. "I'm stuck in Hawaii."

All one-way flights out of Honolulu are booked in the aftermath of Aloha Airlines' shutdown and prices now range from $600 to $1,000, she said.

More than 2,200 ATA employees will be told Thursday that their jobs will be eliminated, said ATA spokesman Michael Freitag.

Even prior to ATA's announcement, Honolulu International was already crowded this week with stranded passengers.

Aloha Airlines, a competitor of ATA, ended its operations on April 1, less than a month after it filed for bankruptcy.

Stranded Aloha Airlines passengers had been scrambling for seats on full planes to the other Hawaiian Islands and to the mainland USA.

Hawaiian Airlines has picked up some Aloha Airlines passengers on standby, and added a new flight to Los Angeles Wednesday.

"We're going to try to accommodate as many people as we can," Blaine Miyasoto of Hawaiian Airlines told the paper Wednesday. "We've decided we're going to put them (the Aloha standby passengers) on the aircraft free of charge."

He said some standby passengers have been waiting since Monday.

Southwest, an ATA codeshare partner, said it would rebook or fully refund passengers who were scheduled to travel on ATA, although Southwest has no flights of its own to or from Hawaii.

Contributing: The Honolulu Advertiser and The Associated Press