INDIANAPOLIS, Sept. 4, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- On Monday, Sept. 5, a crew of ATA Airlines, Inc. (Pink Sheets:ATAHQ) employee volunteers will arrive at Indianapolis International Airport after completing the last of three humanitarian flights into New Orleans. On Saturday, Sept. 3, an ATA Boeing 737-800 departed for New Orleans from Indianapolis International Airport at 2 p.m. to transport the first group of evacuees to Austin, Texas. During the flight, the evacuees received ATA children's backpacks, coloring books and new t-shirts, as well as in-flight meals that were donated by a local K-mart.
The flight's captain and ATA Assistant Chief Pilot Bob Stienke arranged for the meals through a special request to the K-mart, which is located on West Washington Street in Indianapolis near the carrier's corporate headquarters. When Stienke learned he would be flying the mission, he called the store and asked if they would be willing to provide food donations. K-mart responded with fried chicken, lunchmeat and side items. "The evacuees ate every bite of food we had available," said Stienke. "It was a humbling experience for all of us who were fortunate enough to be participating in this mission." In addition to the meals, ATA employees distributed children's backpacks, coloring books and t-shirts the airline had on-hand in its warehouse.
After unloading evacuees in Austin, Texas, the plane and its crew of volunteers stayed overnight in Dallas. From there, they returned to New Orleans at approximately 5:00 p.m. local time on Sept. 4, and transported a second flight of evacuees to Ft. Bliss Air Force Base. While waiting to depart for this second flight, Captain Stienke and co-pilot Monte Dillon walked through the New Orleans airport distributing extra t-shirts that had been loaded onto the aircraft. For the evacuees, they were the first clean item of clothing they had worn in days. Once at Ft. Bliss, the plane took off for a third return to New Orleans to transport a final group of evacuees to Charlotte, N.C. After the evacuees are unloaded in Charlotte, the plane and its crew will arrive home in Indianapolis at approximately 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 5.
ATA CEO John Denison expressed his gratitude to the mission's participants. "We feel fortunate to be able to play our part in the airlift and I am thankful for the giving spirit of our employees that made it possible for us to do so," said Denison. "ATA joins the rest of the nation in keeping our thoughts and prayers focused on those who are suffering."
ATA encourages people who want to help to donate money to their local American Red Cross (ARC), Salvation Army or other charity of their choosing. To this date, Indianapolis-based ATA employees have raised more than $2,000 in personal donations, in addition to their time and support given to the missions. Further inquiries regarding the entire airlift effort should be directed to the Air Transport Association.
ATA Airlines, Inc. is headquartered in Indianapolis and is in its 32nd year of operation. The airline offers "easy" and affordable travel to major business centers and popular vacation destinations like New York, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Hawaii, Florida, Mexico and the Caribbean. Through direct and connecting codeshare flights, ATA now serves customers in more than 70 markets, offers 15 nonstop flights to the New York area every business day and a convenient daily schedule of nonstop flights to many other locations from its major hub operation at Chicago's Midway Airport. For more information, visit ata.com.