Getting to the mainland is no easy feat for stranded ATA passengers. One day after the carrier folded, hundreds paid to hop on a special flight to the west coast, but thousands more are still looking for seats.

The frustration is growing at Honolulu International Airport. Long lines and lots of waiting as another round of stranded ATA airlines passengers scramble to find seats out of Hawaii.

"I just need, I gotta go to school. I can't be down here forever," said Florianne Molina of Vallejo California.

Fortunately, Florianne Molina and nearly 300 others left with useless ATA tickets got out on a special Hawaiian airlines flight to San Francisco. But they did have to pay for it. $320 each.

Lieutenant Colonel Loren Weeks on vacation before deployment to the war zone also got a seat, but his travel problems aren't over yet.

"I'm heading to Kansas to get possibly another ATA, well, flight to fly us into theater, and who knows that flight's on hold as well," said Weeks.

The void left by ATA's abrupt shutdown is forcing Hawaii Tourism officials to be creative in fixing the problem. They say, right now, there are 9-thousand former ATA passengers in Hawaii needing flights to the west coast.

"It doesn't lighten up much, until Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, so any extra section we can get out of anybody is just going to be super," said Rex Johnson, Hawaii Tourism Authority.

Tourism officials are talking with dozens of airlines, even the military and FedEx, to try to add capacity. But so far...

"The only one we're close to being able to work with right now is Hawaiian airlines, but we've had responses from 6 or 8 different people. Some saying we don't have the equipment. There's not much we can do," said Johnson.

It's unclear how much more Hawaiian can help. It's already stretched thin, adding extra seats when Aloha Airlines shut down just this Monday.

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