After a night on the floor of the Halifax airport, many of the stranded Zoom passengers are finally on their way out of the city.

About 20 people bunked down on thin blue mats after their cash-strapped airline suspended its operations Thursday and the airport seized their plane.

By 6:30 a.m. Friday, many of the tired and frustrated travellers — who were already delayed by two days — were up checking with other airlines.

Xander Forsyth was hoping to be back in the U.K. on Wednesday. However, the best he could do was a flight to Toronto.

"A lot of the flights are booked," he told CBC News. "We managed to get a relatively cheap fare to Toronto so we're travelling but we have no idea what awaits us when we get there.

"One thing's for sure. No one's looking out for us on the Zoom side of things."

The ticket counter at the Halifax airport was vacant Friday morning and there was no staff around. Even the seized Zoom plane was out of view on the south tarmac.

The headaches started Wednesday when 213 passengers were told the plane couldn't leave for Ottawa because of mechanical problems.

Travellers were put up for the night in a hotel, then went back to the airport first thing the next morning to await their flight. They boarded the plane but were marched off Thursday afternoon.

That left passengers scrambling for seats on other flights.

For those still stranded, the Halifax International Airport Authority provided mats for anyone who wanted to sleep in the second-storey observation deck.

Airport authority spokesman Peter Spurway said the airport is doing the best it can.

"This is the end of the very busy summer travel season and that's part of the challenge for them is that 'yes, we can get you on a flight but it may be a day or two before we can accommodate or make connections,'" Spurway said.

About 75 people caught flights to Ottawa on Thursday night, while 130 others booked tickets for Europe Friday morning, he said.

In a statement Thursday, Ottawa-based Zoom said it had sought court protection from creditors and had suspended its operations. The airline blamed its financial troubles on high fuel prices.

Spurway said the Halifax airport authority, which is owed nearly $200,000 by Zoom, seized the airline's jet late Thursday after filing a joint application with the Calgary and Vancouver airports.

Spurway said caring for passengers took priority, but the airport authority will go after the money it is owed.

"There were a lot of side discussions going on about the disposition of passengers and the crew and the whole thing. I think now that while those situations are beginning to straighten themselves out, this will bring a little more clarity to those discussions, which I presume will go on for the next little while."

Zoom Airlines operated four flights each week through Halifax — two to Glasgow and two to London.