ONE OF the largest carriers of US troops through Shannon airport has filed for bankruptcy and ceased its operations.
ATA Airlines, formerly American Trans Air, filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code on Wednesday and subsequently discontinued all operations yesterday.
The airline filed for bankruptcy previously in 2004, "seeking reorganisation" and emerged from those Chapter 11 restructuring efforts in 2006.
ATA has been a regular customer at Shannon since the early 1980s, not just operating charter services between Ireland and the US, but also transporting thousands of troops annually to and from the Middle East, Afghanistan and US bases in Europe.
The airline enjoyed a significant share of airlift contracts which facilitated transportation of military personnel and their families to and from overseas destinations. This arrangement accounted for most of ATA's charter business.
In 2007, 262,798 US military personnel passed through Shannon on 1,974 flights. Many of the flights were operated by ATA. The troop business is worth an estimated €7 million a year to the airport.
Shannon airport declined to confirm what percentage of the troop business ATA brought to Shannon. "We learned today of the carrier's bankruptcy filing," a spokesman said. ATA has been flying to, from and through Shannon since the mid-1980s.
"They operated charters between US cities and Shannon as well as technical stops on behalf of a number of charterers including the US military in recent times."
ATA's announcement comes almost two years after the largest carrier of troops for the US military pulled out of Shannon.
On July 1st, 2006, World Airways moved its technical stop operations to Leipzig in Germany. The airline stated at the time it was doing so for economic reasons.
ATA said in a statement: "The cancellation of a critical agreement for our military charter business undermined ATA's plan to address the current conditions facing all scheduled service airlines, including the tremendous spike in the price of jet fuel in recent months."
As a result, it became impossible for them to continue operating, the airline added.
Founded in 1973 and based in Indianapolis, the airline employed about 2,230 workers and was operating 29 aircraft at the time of its shutdown. It claimed to serve 10,000 passengers daily.