13 Jan American Joins Blue Lightning Initiative to Fight Against Human Trafficking

Image by F. Muhammad from Pixabay

During National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, American Airlines announced it is expanding its collaboration with the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) by becoming a member of the Blue Lightning Initiative (BLI). This effort focuses on training airline and aviation personnel, ensuring they have the tools to better identify potential traffickers and victims.

“The Blue Lightning Initiative is a key element in the federal government’s fight against the scourge of human trafficking,” said American’s Vice President of Corporate Security Gary Tomasulo. “American has long partnered with law enforcement to help fight human trafficking, and we are proud to deepen our partnership by joining the initiative.”

“The U.S. Department of Transportation is proud to partner with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and American Airlines to train aviation personnel on how to recognize indicators of and report human trafficking suspicions.” said Julie Abraham, Director of the Office of International Transportation and Trade, U.S. Department of Transportation. “This partnership highlights the commitment of airlines to combat human trafficking in the aviation sector and spread awareness to members of the traveling public.

The training offered by BLI will be part of a company-provided training for tens of thousands of American’s flight attendants, pilots, customer service representatives and other team members to recognize the indicators of human trafficking and take appropriate action. In total, American trains an upwards of 70,000 team members each year on this important topic.

Prior to joining BLI, American was in partnership with the Blue Campaign, which is now a part of the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking, a national public awareness effort to educate the public, law enforcement and industry partners about human trafficking. In 2020, American became a Transportation Leaders Against Human Trafficking (TLAHT) signatory through DOT’s TLAHT initiative to maximize the transportation industry’s collective effort to combat human trafficking.

In early 2024, American’s Professional Women in Aviation Employee Business Resource Group hosted human trafficking awareness sessions with either DHS or other partners at the following five locations: Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW), Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA), Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) and London Heathrow Airport (LHR).

American remains dedicated to protecting human rights, including combating human trafficking and child exploitation, through partnerships such as It’s A Penalty, Protecting All Children from Trafficking (PACT), New Friends New Life (NFNL) and Texas Businesses Against Trafficking (TBAT). In 2024, American donated miles to It’s A Penalty and PACT to support their work.

Through BLI and other programs, American will continue to uphold its commitment to combat human trafficking and fulfill its purpose to care for people on life’s journey.