Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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HUGS

Airfare Assistance · About this organization

What you get

Airline travel for your child and family when treatment requires a trip to Oahu or the mainland.

How to start

Your service provider helps submit the airfare referral after you enroll with HUGS and your doctor sends diagnosis verification.

Good to know

  • Four flight legs per family per year, subject to funding.
  • HUGS pays the airline directly.

The details, as published

B-ALL is in scope Not Published Care team starts the request

HUGS arranges airfare for enrolled Hawaii families when a child needs treatment or a procedure on Oahu or the mainland. HUGS membership is for Hawaii-resident families with a child from birth through age 21 whose physician verifies a life-threatening illness, and the official site expressly includes cancer. Airfare is subject to available funding and limited to four flight legs per family per year, with HUGS paying the airline directly. A family first completes HUGS enrollment with physician diagnosis verification, then works with a service provider on the airfare referral form.

Go to the official program ↗

What help you may get

Travel And Transportation

Airfare Assistance — travel and transportation

HUGS arranges airfare for enrolled Hawaii families when a child needs treatment or a procedure on Oahu or the mainland. HUGS membership is for Hawaii-resident families with a child from birth through age 21 whose physician verifies a life-threatening illness, and the official site expressly includes cancer. Airfare is subject to available funding and limited to four flight legs per family per year, with HUGS paying the airline directly. A family first completes HUGS enrollment with physician diagnosis verification, then works with a service provider on the airfare referral form.

Noncash help

Can cover

  • Airline travel for a child and family when treatment or a procedure requires travel to Oahu or the mainland
  • HUGS pays the airline directly; no dollar value is published.
  • The maximum is four flight legs per family per year, described as two round-trip tickets or four one-way tickets.
  • A family may receive no more than four flight legs per year.

Check the main eligibility rules

Diagnosis

B-ALL is in scope. The official eligibility material expressly includes cancer among life-threatening illnesses for children from birth through age 21; pediatric B-ALL is within that scope.

Age

Age 0 to age 21.

  • HUGS serves families with a child from birth through age 21.

Treatment status

No specific treatment status is published.

  • A provider must verify the patient or diagnosis.
  • The child's physician must verify that the diagnosis is life-threatening.
  • The family must be referred to HUGS through a physician or service-provider relationship.
  • The family enrollment form asks the applicant to select an income range, but the official airfare and eligibility pages publish no income cutoff.

Where you live and where your child is treated

Where your family lives

You must live in: HI.

  • The family must reside in Hawaii.

Where your child is treated

Treatment must be connected to: Airfare assistance is for a child who needs medical treatment or a procedure on Oahu or the mainland because care is not available close to home..

  • Airfare assistance is for a child who needs medical treatment or a procedure on Oahu or the mainland because care is not available close to home.

How to get started

Set up the ask for my care team

Does a social worker or care team need to start it? Yes. Ask your child’s social worker or care team to begin the request.

Who can start: Caregiver, Healthcare Team, Parent Or Guardian

  1. Ask the child's physician to complete the Physician Diagnosis Verification Form and send it directly to HUGS by mail or fax.
  2. Complete the HUGS family Referral Form, consent and liability waiver, and program-participation media choice.
  3. HUGS reviews the request against available funding and the annual flight-leg limit and, if approved, pays the airline directly.
  4. Submit the family portions by mail, email, or fax.
  5. Work with the treating service provider to submit the Airfare Assistance Referral Form for the needed trip.

Ways to apply or ask

Documents to prepare

  • Airfare Assistance Referral Form
  • Consent to Exchange Information and Liability Waiver
  • HUGS family Referral Form
  • Physician Diagnosis Verification Form sent directly by the physician's office
  • Program Participation Media Release choice
  • HUGS makes approved payment directly to the airline.

Availability and timing

ProgramActive
ApplicationsNot Published
Funding or spaceFund Dependent
Application windowNot Published
Last checkedAug 23, 2026
  • The current official services and service-provider pages present airfare assistance and link the referral materials.
  • The service-provider page says assistance is based on available funding.
  • No public application period or deadline is stated.
  • No minimum advance-notice rule is published on the reviewed official pages.

Limitations and things to confirm

  • Airfare assistance is limited to four flight legs per family per year.
  • Every trip is subject to available funding or donated miles.
  • The family must complete HUGS enrollment and physician diagnosis verification.
  • The public pages do not state companion, baggage, scheduling, change-fee, or cancellation rules.
  • Are referrals accepted from providers outside Kapiolani, Kaiser, and Tripler?
  • How does HUGS prioritize requests when available funds or donated miles are insufficient?
  • How far before travel should the airfare referral be submitted?
  • What airline, baggage, change, cancellation, and ground-transportation costs are excluded?
  • Which patient, parent, guardian, or sibling travelers can use the four annual flight legs?

Official sources

Program details were last verified Aug 23, 2026. Availability can change, so check the official program before applying.

Official program