Hawaiian Airlines flight attendant dies of coronavirus, carrier confirms
The late steward joined the airline in 1986
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A flight attendant employed by Hawaiian Airlines has died of the novel coronavirus, the carrier has confirmed.
Jeff Kurtzman, a senior flight attendant based in Los Angeles, passed away on Tuesday night, KHON 2 reports.
The late steward joined the airline in 1986.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Osaka Kansai, Japan - May 24, 2014: A Hawaiian Airlines Airbus A330-200 with the registration N380HA approaching Osaka Kansai Airport (KIX) in Japan. Hawaiian Airlines is a US airline based in Honolulu, Hawaii. (iStock)
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Hawaiian Airlines CEO Peter Ingram shared the news with employees on Wednesday, disclosing that Kurtzman tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month.
A spokesperson for the carrier told the outlet that Kurtzman had attended a recent training session at the airline’s Honolulu headquarters in late June, an event which has been linked to a cluster of coronavirus cases. The airline has since canceled the flight attendant training programming.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Ingram’s email to staff, the executive reportedly said that Kurtzman “had become well known to his in-flight colleagues for his passion for discovering new places, people and cultures; his terrific sense of humor and knack for easy conversation; and his caring heart” over the past three decades.
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“He embodied the values of aloha and malama that we hold dear.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Jeff Kurtzman is the kind of guy you would want as your best friend. He would take the shirt off his back for you," Connie Florez, a friend of the late steward, told KHON2 of his passing. “Hawaii has lost a beautiful man.”
A spokesperson for Hawaiian Airlines was not immediately available to offer further comment.