FILE- This May 9, 2016, file photo, shows an air traffic control tower at their gates at Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta. With a broken throttle Cathy Lewan, the pilot of a small plane, found herself over the world’s busiest airport and facing calamity, but air traffic controllers guided her to a safe landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport on Feb. 14, 2016. On Tuesday, March 14, 2017, Lewan had a reunion with the Atlanta air traffic controllers who were her lifeline. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart, File)
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has never seen an arrest for human trafficking. However, that hasn’t stopped the airport from expanding its program to stop the crime.
Atlanta’s airport is ramping up efforts to spot instances of human trafficking.
Part of the program is teaching more airline and airport workers how to identify victims.
“We want them to know the things they can do,” said Jan Lennon, director of security at the airport, “so they can help us globally to stop human trafficking.”
A survivor, Donna Hubbard, trained employees at a seminar Wednesday.
She is now a flight attendant who works with a human-trafficking awareness group called Airline Ambassadors International.
Hubbard outlined some signs that might set victims apart.
“They will be malnourished,” Hubbard said. “They may have bruises on their body. They may not know where they’re going or where they’re coming from.”
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport plans to hold another seminar later this year. It is also creating audio messages about the crime to air throughout the airport.
The Department of Homeland Security made arrests in nearly 2,000 human-trafficking cases last year.
Hartsfield-Jackson officials say no arrests have been made at the airport so far.
