ATA getting on track after delays

ATA Airlines expects to be back on schedule today after mechanical problems stranded hundreds of passengers in Hawaii over the last three days.

The problems for the airline began when ATA Airlines Flight 4757 with nearly 380 passengers was canceled Thursday because of a faulty circuit.

ATA spokeswoman Maya Wagle said that cancellation set off a domino effect that delayed other flights up until yesterday and some of the passengers on Thursday's flight weren't able to leave until yesterday.

"Because of one plane, the whole schedule turned rather ragged," Wagle said. "We scrambled to get planes from wherever we could."

The airline put passengers up at the Ala Moana Hotel and gave them meal vouchers.

"We are very sorry ... that the passengers had to face this delay," Wagle said. "Our airline is very passenger-focused. That means passenger safety and comfort."

The airline added an extra flight Friday night for about 200 of the originally stranded passengers. The remaining 100 or so passengers flew out yesterday at 4:40 p.m.

But that wasn't the end of it for ATA. Another flight was delayed for 10 hours. Those passengers were given hotel rooms and meal vouchers until their 12:30 a.m. flight.

The news wasn't all bad for some. "I can't think of anywhere that I'd rather be stuck in than Hawaii," said Tyler May, a resident of Newport Beach, Calif.