The Air Transportation Stabilization Board in Washington said it closed on the loan today, after granting conditional approval on Nov. 5.

Aloha officials have said the federal loan guarantee was a critical part of the airline's plans.

Aloha, a privately held company, took several steps in recent months to assure it would be approved for the federal loan guarantee.

It asked all of its roughly 3,000 employees to take pay cuts of $37 million over several years. Earlier this month the airlines' unions approved a 10 percent pay cut.

The airline also negotiated financial agreements with lenders, lessors and shareholders for the final approval.

The Air Transportation Stabilization Board was established last year by Congress after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to oversee a $10 billion loan program. Aloha applied for the federal loan guarantee in June.

When the board granted conditional approval last month it asked Aloha to make structural and financial enhancements.

The board also said it might require some control over the sale of shares of ownership in the airline in return for future financing.

Aloha Airlines, like other airlines around the country, struggled after Sept. 11 when airports were closed for several days.

It secured a federal antitrust exemption in September which allowed it to coordinate interisland flight schedules with rival Hawaiian Airlines and make that part of its business more financially viable.

Since its inception, the Air Transportation Stabilization Board has approved several airlines for loans and turned down several others.

United Airlines was denied a $1.8 billion loan guarantee earlier this month, forcing it to file for bankruptcy protection.

The board on Friday conditionally approved a federal loan guarantee of $148.5 million on a $150 million loan package for Evergreen International Airlines, but turned down a request by Great Plains Airlines to guarantee $17 million of a $25 million loan package.