AirAsia Philippines has joined hands with three government agencies to combat human trafficking, and ensures the protection and rehabilitation of victims and conviction of trafficking offenders.
According to AirAsia during the PAA-TALK session, the Bureau of Immigration (BI), the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) discussed passenger profiling, identifying, and handling possible victims of human trafficking.
PAA-TALK, an internal initiative by AirAsia Philippines, is a series of talks targeted at various important issues concerning aviation.
The low-cost airline deemed the topic necessary despite the fact that the Philippines remained as among the top countries recognized by the US State Department for meeting its standard in eliminating human trafficking.
AirAsia Philippines Communications and Public Affairs Country Head Steve Dailisan said the carrier is one with the government in safeguarding fellow Filipinos against human trafficking. "There will be no room for complacency. To ensure the safety of our guests, we have 20,000 Allstars across ASEAN trained to identify signs of human trafficking during check-in procedures and onboard flights."
Data from the BI revealed that 6,000 Filipinos were suspected to have fallen victim to human trafficking for the first two months of 2023 alone. Of the said figure, only 0.6 percent were offloaded while the rest continued with their journey ending in other ASEAN countries and the Middle East.
The MIAA, NBI and Immigration have agreed to intensify the monitoring and policing to save more Filipinos against human trafficking.
As a way of support, the airline said the new travel guidelines will require passengers to present more travel documents.
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