Airline Ambassadors take a stand against human trafficking

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana – Airline Ambassadors International (AAI) is providing training on Human Trafficking Awareness at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport in the Aviation Board Room above Concourse C at 2:00-3:00 pm on Friday, January 18, 2013. The volunteer training will build awareness around the “red flags” that crews and airport personnel should be especially alert to in the weeks before the Super Bowl. Since correctly identifying trafficking on four flights in 2009, AAI has led the effort to take Human Trafficking Awareness to the travel industry.

Anna I. Rodriguez, founder of the Florida Coalition against Human Trafficking, will join the group to share about the coalition’s efforts working with the FBI before the Super Bowl. She serves as a trainer for the Organization of American States and has conducted trainings throughout the Western Hemisphere since 2006. In 2004, Ms. Rodriguez was publicly recognized by President George W. Bush for her dedication to rescue human trafficking victims. US Congressman Mario Diaz Balart and Congresswoman Stella Marie Cordoba have also recognized her efforts. Ms. Rodriguez’s passion continues to inspire others to become bridge builders uniting to rescue victims of human trafficking, the “invisible slaves of the 21st century.”

Human trafficking is a US$30 billion criminal industry, second only to narcotics. Every year, hundreds of thousands fall victim to traffickers, and unfortunately, the vast majority of victims are children. Traffickers use commercial air travel to transport their victims every day.

Airline Ambassadors is the only charity of the overall airline industry, and the team includes Petra Hensley, founder of the Sojka Foundation, a survivor of human trafficking from the Czech Republic. They have provided 7 airport trainings and distributed 10,000 wallet cards to raise awareness among airline/airport personnel teaching how to recognize and report this horrific crime. Nancy Rivard, President of AAI, said: “We get calls every month from flight attendants seeing possible trafficking on their flights, but we need help to get the word out.” AAI is kicking off awareness in 2013 with this training in New Orleans and taking their training to flight crews in the Ukraine in late January.