Flight Attendants Recognize and Report Human Trafficking In The Air
Sex Trafficking spikes during Super Bowl, 2016 Legislative Win Better Arms Flight Attendants to Help Victims
Washington, D.C. (February 5, 2017) — The Super Bowl brings a surge of human trafficking to its host city every year—many of those innocent victims are transported on commercial planes. But this year thanks to legislative advocacy by the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, flight attendants are starting to receive mandatory training to recognize and report suspected human trafficking. Since last year's Superbowl, Congress adopted and President Obama signed into law a requirement that airlines provide training, resulting in 100,000 Eyes in the Skies ready to save lives.
“Many Flight Attendants have spent sleepless nights after having witnessed something that just didn't feel right on their flight. With this training, flight attendants can recognize and report signs of trafficking,” said Sara Nelson, international president of the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA. “Traffickers steal lives. But for a window of time, we can see it and report it. Flight attendants and other aviation workers can be the ones to make a difference. We all recognize the horror of human trafficking, and with training we are doing something tangible to stop it.”
Congress included human trafficking awareness training for Flight Attendants and other aviation workers in the short-term FAA Reauthorization, passed in July 2016. For more information, visit HiddenInPlaneSight.org.
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The Association of Flight Attendants is the Flight Attendant union. Focused 100 percent on Flight Attendant issues, AFA has been the leader in advancing the Flight Attendant profession for 71 years. Serving as the voice for Flight Attendants in the workplace, in the aviation industry, in the media and on Capitol Hill, AFA has transformed the Flight Attendant profession by raising wages, benefits and working conditions. Nearly 50,000 Flight Attendants come together to form AFA, part of the 700,000-member strong Communications Workers of America (CWA), AFL-CIO. Visit us at www.afacwa.org.
