Delta Donates 100 Flights and $1.5M to Help Survivors and Victims of Human Trafficking
Delta Air Lines is one of the airlines that has taken actionable steps to battle human trafficking.
In addition to a previous video informational campaign, the airline is now donating $1.5 million to help combat human trafficking, both in the sky and on the ground.
According to the International Labor Organization, there are about 25 million people enslaved today worldwide. Recent studies also found that 71% of victims trafficked specifically for labor have traveled on planes to the United States at some point during their recruitment. Beyond that stat, about 40% of all human trafficking survivors report flying at some point during their exploitation.
Delta's donation will go to the nonprofit group Polaris and its National Human Trafficking Hotline, which connects victims and survivors of sex and labor trafficking with services to help them get to safety. This is actually Delta's second donation to support the National Human Trafficking Hotline, following a $1 million donation in 2017. Polaris' work has led to significant advancements in research efforts and human trafficking data analysis., the airline said The donations will help ensure the National Hotline is well-staffed and equipped to respond to the 200 to 300 contacts made with victims daily.
Since 2017, there has been a 36 percent increase in contacts from survivors overall, according to Delta. It said the hotline has received about 41,088 contacts in the last year.
"It's rewarding to see tangible results of our partnership with Polaris helping the fight against human trafficking, and watching our support change lives," said Allison Ausband, Senior Vice President — In-Flight Service and leader of Delta's Executive Steering Committee Against Human Trafficking. She went on to say, "The problem of human trafficking has to be aggressively combatted from every angle, and for Delta that means getting our nearly 200 million customers and 80,000 employees onboard in the fight. We all have a role to play and can make a difference."
Delta has also provided over 100 flights for survivors of human trafficking through SkyWish, a mileage donation program. The airline is encouraging SkyMiles Members who want to get involved to donate their miles to help transport survivors. So far, SkyMiles Members have donated over 6 million miles, which you can add to at Delta.com/SkyWish. You can also report any information you have on potential human trafficking cases by calling 1-888-373-7888 or texting 233733.
