- What the Blue Lightning Initiative is
- What the BLI training consists of
- How many aviation personnel have already gone through the training
The Blue Lightning Initiative is an element of the DHS Blue Campaign that trains aviation personnel to identify potential traffickers and human trafficking victims, and to report their suspicions to federal law enforcement. Over 100,000 aviation personnel have been trained through the BLI. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Transportation are hosting webinars on August 17 and 18 to discuss BLI. Brian Koester, NBAA’s director of flight operations and regulations said “The business aviation community supports the BLI’s effort to stop human trafficking, and I hope members will join me in attending one of these webinar.”
Congress in 2016 required air carriers to provide flight attendant training regarding recognizing and responding to potential human trafficking victims and then in 2018 expanded the requirement to include “ticket counter agents, gate agents, and other air carrier workers whose jobs require regular interaction with passengers.” the training is 17 minutes long and goes over four lessons : What is human trafficking, indicators of human trafficking activity, reporting suspected human trafficking, and indicator challenges.
