ASSISTANCE

ASSISTANCE
Food Lion gives $50,000 to aid tsunami victims
SALISBURY, N.C. -- Food Lion today kicked off a campaign to provide aid to the victims of the tsunami disaster in South Asia.
Through the American Red Cross Disaster Relief/International Response Campaign, Food Lion is giving a $50,000 cash contribution.
Other Delhaize Group companies throughout the world, including Food Lion's sister banner, Hannaford, also are contributing to disaster relief funds.
AIRLINES
Aloha files Chapter 11
The parent company of Aloha Airlines filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, joining four other U.S. air carriers seeking to restructure under court protection.
"It will be business as usual as we move forward to complete the restructuring of our company," said David A. Banmiller, who took over as Aloha Airgroup's president and chief executive in mid-November.
Reservations for future travel will be taken, tickets will be honored, and flights will operate as scheduled, said Banmiller.
The bankruptcy filing Thursday comes after months of working with the Air Transportation Stabilization Board to avoid a bankruptcy filing, the board said in a statement Friday.
Hot line set up for travel tales of woe
WASHINGTON -- The government now has a hot line for people to call with complaints about flight disruptions over the Christmas holiday weekend, the Transportation Department's inspector general said on Friday.
Thousands of travelers were stranded after two airlines canceled hundreds of flights because of computer and staffing problems.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta asked Inspector General Kenneth Mead to look into the snafus at US Airways and Delta subsidiary Comair, which grounded 1,100 flights last Saturday because of a computer problem.
Mead said in a statement that his office is looking at travel problems on the two airlines between Dec. 22 and Dec. 28.
People who were affected by travel disruptions or who have information about them should call (866) 670-3341 or send an e-mail through the inspector general's Web site at http://www.oig.dot.gov, Mead said.
Vindicator staff/wire services