ATA Airlines Goes Bankrupt Again, Cancels All Flights

April 3, 2008 9:15 p.m. EST

New York, NY (AHN) - ATA Airlines suddenly shut down Thursday, canceling flights that stranded thousands of passengers as the carrier relapsed into bankruptcy.

ATA's ticket booths at airports across the country were deserted and had signs informing of the shut down and apologizing to inconvenienced passengers. ATA carries an estimated 10,000 passengers per day.

The airline said in a statement on its website that it asked other carriers to help passengers stranded by the abrupt cancellations. Southwest Airlines, which shares passengers with ATA, started rescheduling customers' flights, giving priority to those scheduled to fly within 14 days.

ABC News quoted ATA spokesman Michael Freitag as saying the jobs of more than 2,200 employees of the airline are gone.

ATA, which was revived from bankruptcy in 2006, announced through its website that the company would not be able to restructure itself due to the loss of a military charter contract. The firm also blamed the high cost of fuel for the airline's bankruptcy.

ATA joined Aloha Airlines in the list of carriers that have filed for bankruptcy protection this year.