Delta is intensifying its efforts to raise awareness of human trafficking ahead of the Super Bowl coming to Atlanta.
Weeks before the big game and its fans descend on Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta (NYSE: DAL) has launched a new in-flight video and enhanced signage to guide passengers on how to spot human trafficking. The city of Atlanta estimates the event will draw in more than 1 million visitors, with increased traffic around the Mercedes-Benz stadium, downtown business areas and the Atlanta airport.
In Atlanta, trafficking has consistently climbed, with 98 reported cases in 2012 to 276 in 2017, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Atlanta is a hotbed for the activity for several reasons. It’s home to the world’s busiest airport, hosts major conventions and events and has an extensive highway system. New signs are being rolled out across the airline’s major hubs in advance of the Super Bowl to educate the passengers on trafficking indicators.
“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,” said Allison Ausband, senior vice president of Delta’s in-flight service.
Delta partnered with Polaris, an anti-human trafficking non-profit, to launch human trafficking training last year. The company has trained 56,000 of its employees to watch for signs of forced labor or sexual exploitation on flights or in airports, and roughly 500 of the airline’s employees will volunteer at the Super Bowl to help detect any potential victims of human trafficking.
The campaign was created in collaboration with Polaris and uses a young boy’s narrative of human trafficking to ask customers to #GetOnBoard.
