In honor of Human Trafficking Awareness Day on January 11, Delta Air Lines is hosting ‘Silence Breaker’ Terry Crews, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Polaris CEO Bradley Myles and trafficking survivor Megan Lundstrom for the airline’s third annual employee rally in the fight against trafficking, hosted by Delta CEO Ed Bastian. Attendees will hear first-person perspectives, learn how the crime impacts aviation and ultimately take away small actions to disrupt trafficking through transportation systems at the Delta Flight Museum.
Seventy-one percent of labor trafficking victims report being trafficked into the United States on an airplane. Weeks before the big game and its fans descend on Atlanta’s Hartsfield Jackson International Airport in Delta’s hometown, the airline today announced enhancements to raise awareness among travelers in airports and, for the first time, via in-flight entertainment screens.
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“Trafficking is a dark topic – but, in the darkness, there is massive opportunity for 80,000 Delta people, hand-in-hand with our 200 million customers, to drive change and ultimately save lives,” said Allison Ausband, S.V.P. — In-Flight Service. “With over 56,000 employees trained to identify trafficking indicators, we are introducing a customer awareness campaign that will unite us all – sending a clear message to traffickers that they are not welcome on our planes or in our airports.”
The campaign, developed with anti-human trafficking experts Polaris, calls customers to #GetOnBoard and shines a light on the estimated 25 million people enslaved today. It includes enhanced signage in airports and an inflight video that puts a face and story to modern slavery, depicting an unsuspected trafficking dynamic and highlighting indicators through the eyes of a young boy – the trafficking victim.
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“He’s not really my uncle, that’s just what he told me to say,” the boy whispers, nodding to a common trafficking scenario of a deceptive relationship while the trafficker next to him sleeps. From the Delta entertainment system screen, it heightens customers’ awareness of a scenario potentially transpiring in the row in front of them.
The video is being introduced with a PA announcement on all aircraft equipped with seatback screens during January, Human Trafficking Awareness Month. It also provides the number for the National Human Trafficking Hotline, a resource for victims and the community alike to report tips of human trafficking or access support, which Delta supported with a $1M commitment.
New signs are being rolled out across the airline’s major hubs in advance of February’s sporting event to educate the public on trafficking indicators. Additionally, the January edition of Delta’s Sky Magazine touches on anti-trafficking throughout the issue with a message from Ed Bastian on the topic, an interview with cover star Jada Pinkett-Smith and an awareness ad.
