ATA ceases operations

photo by Drewski2112

ATA Airlines announced today that after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, it has "discontinued all operations and cancelled all current and future flights". "Following the loss of a key contract for our military charter business, it became impossible for ATA to continue operations," the airline said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we were not in a position to provide our customers or others with advance notice."

When it shut down, ATA operated 29 airplanes (Boeing 737-800s, Boeing 757-200s and -300s, DC-10s and L-1011s) and carrried about 10,000 passengers per day. The airline's 2,230 employees will be laid off.

The statement made by the airline said that "a primary factor leading to these actions was the unexpected cancellation of a key contract for ATA’s military charter business, which made it impossible for ATA to obtain additional capital to sustain its operations or restructure the business." ATA's chief operating officer also attributed ATA's shutdown to "the tremendous spike in the price of jet fuel in recent months".

The airline was founded as American Trans Air in 1973 and changed its name to ATA in 2003. It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy once before in 2004, and emerged in 2006.

ATA was founded in 1973 and recent=