Hawaii has lost another homegrown airline.

Island Air, the state’s second-largest carrier, announced Thursday afternoon that its last day of service will be today after having exhausted all options to remain flying. The closure comes just three weeks after the airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The shutdown will leave 423 Island Air employees out of a job and hundreds of passengers scrambling to find alternate flights.

Island Air said it has been in contact with the state Department of Labor and Industrial Relations about assisting displaced employees.

Hawaiian Airlines, the state’s largest carrier, said from Saturday through Nov. 17 Island Air passengers holding confirmed reservations can fly standby on Hawaiian flights.

After 37 years in business, Island Air has joined a long list of carriers that couldn’t make it in Hawaii’s interisland market.

The shutdown is reminiscent of the abrupt ending of Aloha Airlines, which ceased service in March 2008 just 11 days after filing for bankruptcy reorganization. Some of the current Island Air employees previously worked for Aloha, which had been in service for 61 years.

Go! airlines shut down at the end of March 2014. Discovery Airways, Mahalo Air, Mid Pacific Air and Pacific Wings are others that failed.

“It is with a heavy heart that I must inform all of you that tomorrow Friday the 10th of November will be the last day for Island Air to be in service,” Island Air CEO David Uchiyama wrote in an email to employees. “We will need to work through this day with our heads held high, knowing that we did all that we could do to provide an affordable alternative to interisland travel.”

The airline, which was founded in 1980 as Princeville Airways and accounts for about 5 percent of the interisland market, had been operating 252 flights a week, or 36 a day, between Honolulu, Kahului, Kona and Lihue. Island Air’s last flight will be Flight 449, scheduled to depart Kahului at 10:14 p.m. today and arrive in Honolulu at 10:49 p.m.

Cecilia Swanson of Waipahu had purchased a $149.99 round-trip ticket to visit her brother in Kona during Thanksgiving weekend. She was scheduled to leave on Thanksgiving Day and return on Sunday.

“I’m kind of upset because they shouldn’t be taking reservations if they know they’re going to close,” said Swanson, who purchased her ticket about a week ago. She didn’t waste any time seeking reimbursement and said Thursday she already contacted her credit card company and was told the refund should be reflected in her account in four days.

Island Air filed for bankruptcy protection on Oct. 16 after Ireland-based aircraft lessor Elix Assets 8 Ltd. and aircraft trustee Wells Fargo Bank Northwest attempted to repossess the company’s three remaining Q400 aircraft for nonpayment. The bankruptcy filing blocked Elix from taking possession of the planes.

The airline, which had lost money every quarter for 4-1/2 years, hadn’t made any lease payments since June 30. As recently as Wednesday Island Air’s attorney, Ted Pettit, told bankruptcy Judge Robert Faris the airline was working to secure financing to keep it operating. Faris said he was concerned about the cash situation and that without a cash infusion Island Air “can’t go on for long whatever happens.”

On Oct. 27, Island Air said in a court filing it was in discussions with multiple prospective investors to obtain about $6.5 million in financing.

The carrier said Thursday one of the difficulties attracting new investors was “the aggressive legal attacks” by Elix and its aircraft trustee, Wells Fargo Bank Northwest. Island Air said that even though the aircraft lessors’ motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent use of the planes was denied by Faris on Nov. 3, the lessors “continued to engage in multi-directional legal attacks which Island Air could no longer combat without additional financing.”

Hawaii aviation historian Peter Forman said the airline made it harder on itself once it moved to larger aircraft.

“One of the reasons why Island Air is going out of business is because its (de Havilland) Dash-8 airplanes, which had been profitable for them in the earlier years, seated less than 40 passengers,” he said. “It needed to be replaced because of aging, and the larger aircraft used (first the 64-seat ATR 72s and then the 78-seat Bombardier Q400s) seated nearly twice the number of passengers. Filling up these larger airplanes was a much more difficult task, and the larger aircraft required Island Air to compete head to head with Hawaiian Airlines on the more popular routes. That proved to be a daunting task.”

Island Air, which began switching to the Q400 in January, has been under new ownership since February 2016 when Honolulu venture capitalist Jeffrey Au and other investors purchased two-thirds of the airline from billionaire Larry Ellison, who retained a one-third share.

CUSTOMER HELP

For Island Air ticket holders:

>> All passengers are responsible for making their own alternative arrangements for interisland travel. Passengers need to contact their credit card company for inquiries on refunds. For questions or concerns, call 1-800-652-6541.

>> Hawaiian Airlines is allowing passengers with confirmed reservations from Saturday through Nov. 17 to fly standby on their scheduled day of departure for coach class seating on Hawaiian’s regularly scheduled flights. Travelers must go to Hawaiian’s special customer service desk at the airport on the date of travel and present their ticket confirmation. The flights on Hawaiian must be between the same origin and destination cities as the Island Air reservation.

>> For those passengers requiring a confirmed ticket, Hawaiian is offering a special $71 one-way fare, including taxes and fees, for Saturday through Nov. 17. The special fare applies to round-trip tickets that include a return segment outside the seven- day window.

EMPLOYEE HELP

What to do if you are one of Island Air’s 423 employees:

>> Today at 11 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. the state Labor Department’s rapid response team will be at the Island Air terminal in Honolulu to assist employees;

>> The Labor Department can assist with applying for unemployment benefits, job hunting and job training;

>> If you are on a neighbor island, visit your state Labor Department office next week for assistance. Offices are closed today for Veterans Day.

>> You can apply for unemployment benefits online at labor.hawaii.gov