Laid-Off Aloha, ATA Airlines Employees To Get Assistance From Hawaii

Honolulu, HI (AHN) - Laid-off Aloha and ATA Airlines employees will receive unemployment assistance from a $5.2 million emergency grant extended to Hawaii.

The state set aside $3.3 million to be handled by the Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations which would make available counseling, skills assessment and job training for 710 former airline employees.

A large number of those who lost their jobs with the closure of the two air carriers were residents of Neighbor Islands. Rep. Mazie Hirono of the 2nd Congressional District, told the Maui Times, "This much-needed boost in assistance for those who are still unemployed comes at a time when Hawaii residents are feeling the burden of rising prices not only at the gas stations but also at the grocery store."

A special training fund would also be established for workers from the two shuttered airlines and other Hawaii-based firms which recently closed shop. Employees from Aloha, ATA, Molokai Properties, NCL America and Weyerhauser would be granted a 50 percent discount on tuition on college courses or job trainings in non-credit programs.

Aloha said goodbye to the air transport business on March 31, while ATA closed shop two days after. Some former Aloha employees were possibly employed by Hawaiian Airlines and the Mesa Air Group, which had openings for pilots, flight attendants and mechanics at the time of Aloha's closure.