(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-04-04 10:34

LOS ANGELES  -- Thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the United States Thursday as low-cost carrier ATA Airlines suddenly canceled all flights and filed for bankruptcy.

Many of these unlucky passengers learned of the airline' collapse at ticket counters, where advisories were posted in the handful of major cities served by the Indianapolis-based airline.

At Los Angeles International Airport, dozens of ATA passengers arrived early in the morning at the terminal only to find empty check-in counters and apologetic flyers.

"It was going to be my first trip to Hawaii in 30 years. I guess I'm going to go home. It wasn't meant to be," a passenger told local KNBC TV channel.

The airline said in a statement on its website Thursday that it could not continue operations because of the loss of a key contract for its military charter business.

"Unfortunately, we were not in a position to provide our customers or others with advance notice" about the sudden shutdown, the statement said.

According to the airline, about 10,000 passengers flew ATA flights each day when operations were shut down.

The airline, formerly known as American Trans Air, was founded in 1973 and served major cities and popular vocation destinations throughout the United States, including Chicago, Los Angeles, Hawaii, and Las Vegas. It also operated as a leading charter carrier for the US military.

ATA was the second airline in the United States to shut down its operations within a week amid ever increasing fuel costs. Aloha Airlines, a low-cost carrier based in Honolulu, Hawaii, ceased its passenger services Monday after filing for bankruptcy protection last month.