You would have thought $1,000 would be enough to get someone.
Elsewhere, someone has said you can drive between the two airports in 4 hours. Not perfect, but could the staff have got there by car instead or be booked onto a competitor's flight?
Edit: Here's a great chart showing what the airline might have done.
https://qz.com/955853/flowchart-of-n...tm_source=qzfb