HONOLULU -- Aloha Airlines failed to pay hundreds of its fired pilots and flight attendants their last paychecks on Tuesday, because of what the company called an "oversight."

Aloha Airlines said the unpaid workers should get their pay in the next 12 hours, one day late. Employees said the incident adds insult to injury having their badly-needed final paycheck delayed.

Aloha's pilots and flight attendants who went through an emotional final two days on the job earlier this month were hoping for their last paychecks on Tuesday. They would have included a month's worth of per-diem pay plus other differentials for mainland and nighttime travel.

A company spokesman said many of them did not get paid because of a "late wire transfer," which he blamed on human error. The spokesman said the problem does not have anything to do with bankruptcy and Aloha's money problems.

Pilots and flight attendants with direct deposit into First Hawaiian Bank accounts got paid, according to airline officials. However, employees dispute that.

Aloha said everyone should be paid within the next 12 hours. Employees said it is hard to believe this situation does not have something to do with Aloha's money woes, noting that no other payroll mistake like this has happened in the last few decades.

Aloha will begin retraining about 40 of its senior pilots fired when the airline shutdown so they can replace junior pilots who are now flying its cargo airplanes, KITV learned.

That follows a dispute over seniority came to a head last week, when Aloha canceled seven cargo flights because a number of pilots called in "sick."

It is an important development, because Aloha Airlines was worried that a dispute over the cargo pilots' seniority would scare off potential buyers for Aloha's profitable cargo operation.

The majority of pilots who fly these interisland cargo jets have around five to seven years of seniority with Aloha Airlines. They have continued flying for the cargo operation, after Aloha ended passenger service two weeks ago.

Now, pilot union officials said senior pilots with at least 25 years of seniority fired earlier this month will be brought back on the payroll and trained to use the cargo jets. However, the union said they will not be paid for the training.

The junior cargo pilots will be furloughed, as called for in the union contract.

The owner of interisland shipper Young Brothers is one of several companies interested in bidding on the profitable air cargo operation at auction later this month.

There is no guarantee that the pilots or other unionized cargo employees will keep their jobs once a new owner takes over Aloha cargo.

The new owner could fire them and replace them with lower-paid employees, or slash their pay and benefits. In the best-case scenario for the workers, they could remain on the payroll without having their pay and benefits reduced.