A Zoom Airlines plane at Calgary airport.A Zoom Airlines plane at Calgary airport. (Louise Moquin/CBC)

Jasna Jennings just wants to zoom on out of Halifax.

"Just get me on a plane," Jennings said Thursday, waving her hand in frustration as she leaned against the Air Canada ticket counter at the Halifax airport.

The Ottawa resident was one of 213 passengers ordered off a Zoom Airlines plane Thursday afternoon after the cash-strapped airline suspended its operations.

The plane was scheduled to leave for Ottawa — for the second time in two days — but ground crews refused to release it because their company was owed $2 million by Zoom. Later on Thursday, the Halifax International Airport Authority obtained and executed an order to seize the Boeing 737 as collateral against the $200,000 it is owed.

Refunds

Zoom said customers who had future travel plans with the airline for which reservations and payment have been made should refer to their credit or debit card company for a refund. British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are offering special fares to assist stranded Zoom passengers, the company said, adding that a list of other airlines that could assist them was available on its website.

American Express announced Thursday evening that it would refund cardholders who purchased cancelled Zoom Airlines tickets and who aren't able to get reimbursed through other means.

MasterCard said that for its cardholders, it is "general policy" that Zoom passengers would get a refund. The company advised travellers on cancelled flights to keep any receipts and tickets and to call their credit-card issuer.

"I don't even know what time we're at, and I'm not even sure what day it is anymore," Jennings said.

The jet arrived in Halifax on Wednesday afternoon. Passengers were told there was a mechanical problem, and they were put up in a hotel overnight.

"Yesterday we arrived around 3 o'clock," Jennings explained on Thursday. "We sat on the tarmac for seven hours and then it was another two hours trying to get to the hotel. Then they told us to queue up at 6:30 in the morning."

Judi Vargatoth and her family of seven are stranded, too.

No one from Zoom has been around to help the passengers, Vargatoth said.

"I understand we'll have to buy brand new tickets now, and hopefully get reimbursed but probably not," she said. "I imagine WestJet and Air Canada will be fully booked by everybody who got off before us, because with five kids and all the luggage, we can only move so fast."

Jennings got lucky: She got a ticket to Ottawa for Thursday night.

Many of her fellow travellers did, too, but dozens more remained stranded for a second night, and on Thursday, they weren't getting a free hotel room from the airline.

Passengers bedded down in the airport's observation deck with sleeping mats, pillows and blankets provided by the airport.

Zoom seeks protection from creditors

Ottawa-based Zoom Airlines sought court protection from creditors in Canada and the United States on Thursday, blaming its troubles on the sagging economy and "horrendous" increases in fuel prices.

It grounded planes in Canada and the U.K.

The cash-strapped company owes money to fuel suppliers and airports, including $400,000 to the Calgary Airport Authority, according to the authority.

Peter Spurway, spokesman for the Halifax International Airport Authority, said the airline owes it close to $200,000.

"As you can expect, we will be pursuing that," he said.

Spurway said Service Air, the people who handle the airplane on the ground, suspended their service to Zoom before the airline grounded its planes.

Zoom Airlines operates four flights each week through Halifax — two to Glasgow and two to London. Spurway said it represents only about two per cent of the airport's annual revenue.