U.S. & World News

INDIANAPOLIS (CBS) ― ATA Airlines announced Thursday morning it is shutting down all operations and canceling all current and future flights.

The Indianapolis-based airline shut down operations as of 3 a.m. Thursday morning. Customers who arrived for flights at Midway International Airport were turned away Thursday morning, while employees who showed up for work were told they were no longer needed.

There had been flights scheduled for Thursday from Midway to Dallas, Oakland, Honolulu and Cancun.

The Midway ticket counter was lifeless Thursday morning. Only a flier with limited information was posted.

When air travelers came to Midway with no advance notice that ATA had gone out of business, staff from Southwest Airlines tried to help them salvage their travel plans.

But many were frustrated regardless.

"There's no one to help us," one woman said. "I mean, what do you do?"

"We drove here from Indianapolis to get a flight to go to Hawaii, and my son and his buddy are on spring break, and we're just like in shock. We had no idea," said ATA passenger Donna Fregeau at Midway. "I tried to call them yesterday just to check in, and I was on the phone for a like an hour and no one ever picked up, so I finally just hung up and tried again last night, and couldn't get through. So we just came here this morning and just found out."

Fregeau said she was not giving up on getting to Hawaii, but others were not so optimistic.

"I'm very upset, especially getting up this early," added ATA passenger Leslie Gromadzki, "and now they're saying that the other airlines may not even offer for us to fly on theirs, so we're kind of stuck."

Some passengers were confused when they arrived at ticket counters.

"So I'm flying with one adult, one child, so yes, I'm a little aggravated. I don't know what line to stand in," said passenger Lynn Stanek. "I'll find out; I'm going to go up and ask somebody now, but I don't know where I'm supposed to be going."

It was not immediately learned whether any other airlines were honoring ATA tickets.

CBS station WBBM-TV in Chicago also spoke with employee who showed up for work and left, but before she left, she apparently chalked up the situation to bad management.

ATA's shutdown comes after the airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Wednesday in Indianapolis. In a statement posted on its Web site Thursday morning, the airline said it had become impossible to continue operations after the loss of a key contract for its military charter business.

The airline said in a statement that ATA customers should "seek alternative operations for current and future travel. They have composed a list of other airlines serving the same destinations as ATA.

ATA said if passengers bought tickets using a credit card, they should contact their credit card company or travel agency to inquire about a refund for unused tickets. For tickets purchased with cash or check directly from ATA, refunds are not currently available, the airline said.

Cash or check customers may receive full or partial refunds by submitting a claim to the Chapter 11 proceedings for ATA, the airline said.

ATA announced last month that it would leave its hub at Midway, a move for which the airline blamed high fuel prices. Previously, the airline had planned to stop domestic flights out of Midway on April 14 and flights to Mexico on June 7.

The airline had flights from Midway to Dallas/Fort Worth and Oakland, Calif. It also had flights to Hawaii from Oakland, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Las Vegas.

ATA operates a code sharing agreement with Southwest Airlines under which passengers can buy a ticket and fly on either airline to certain destinations. The airline said anyone who purchased tickets under that agreement should call Southwest Airlines at (800) 308-5037.

ATA emerged from federal bankruptcy protection in 2006 and is now a subsidiary of Global Aero Logistics Inc.

(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)