Las Vegas NowATA Airlines Bankrupt, Cancels Flights

ATA Airlines Bankrupt, Cancels Flights

Frustrations run high when an airline goes out of business without warning. Now hundreds of passengers must give up the vacations they've been planning for months.

Those passengers were stranded in Las Vegas after ATA Airlines grounded its planes and declared bankruptcy. Now some passengers are scrambling to find their way home while others are missing out on long awaited vacations.

ATA filed bankruptcy at 4 a.m. Thursday. The airline said they couldn't operate anymore after it lost a lucrative contract from the military. And many passengers didn't know they were grounded until they got to the airport Thursday morning.

"Lack of communication -- cowards they don't have reps here to explain. It's like a prison we couldn't leave because I would lose my ticket. So I had to stay there for eight hours," said Jethani Yogesh, an ATA passenger traveling to Hawaii.

It's been a waiting game that has lasted hours. Hundreds of ATA passengers are trying to make it to their final destination.

Don Lott and his wife thought Las Vegas would just be a pit stop on their way from Ohio to Hawaii. But when they woke up Thursday morning, they found out McCarran Airport was as far as they could go.

"Some executives some place is asleep after fling bankruptcy this morning. Sweet dreams, my friend. I hope you can sleep because I don't know where I am going to sleep tonight," said Lott.

Other passengers say the first sign of trouble came last night.

"They told us it was a maintenance issue and then we would be able to get on the plane. Then they gave us a story about sending a pilot to Arizona to get another plane," said one passenger.

But after all of that, passengers were told to find other flights.

"There is not a whole lot we can do," said a passenger.

But at least one airline employee told passengers all other flights were booked, leaving passengers scrambling to find somewhere to go.

"We are stuck because the soonest flight is Sunday or Monday," said another passenger.

Travel agents say the best thing people can do is call their credit card companies to have the charges reversed and try to get seats on other airlines. But if you paid with cash or check, it will be very hard for you to get your money back.

Southwest Airlines does have a codeshare agreement with ATA and may be able to honor some tickets.

Email your comments to Reporter Travell Eiland.