COBB COUNTY, Ga. — With thousands of fans expected for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, employees at Hartsfield -Jackson Atlanta International Airport are learning how to identify and respond to human trafficking, in real time.
Channel 2 Cobb County Bureau Chief Michele Newell was live in Marietta.
Airport employees are required to complete human trafficking training, but this is different.
ThE training is led by the founder of a human trafficking awareness organization in Cobb County.
There’s lots of excitement around the matches, but preparation for what could potentially happen is key when it comes to keeping everyone safe.
“These are some of the materials that we would send out for people that want training,” Susan Norris, Rescuing Hope founder.
Norris is on a mission to combat human trafficking.
“We trained all 159 sheriffs in the state of Georgia,” she said.
As the FIFA World Cup is expected to draw 500,000 visitors to Atlanta, Norris has expanded her training to the world’s busiest airport.
“We really sat down and talked about how might a victim present in your area, if you think you have someone, what’s your next step?” she said.
“Being able to put our frontline employees in the same room and discuss areas where we need to strengthen, gaps that we may have and what to do in a situation and form a tighter communication when something does happen,” said Joy Brown, airport human trafficking liaison.
“We really covered the whole issue of human trafficking. What it is, what it looks like, who the players are,” she said.
“As we prepare for the World Cup and the increase in volume of passengers and people in general we are going to have to really lock arms in this and wrap our hands around it so that people know human trafficking is not welcomed here,” she added.
Brown says employees are always prepared for what could happen.
“We really do our best to stay on top of the trends and indicators to push that out to our employees so they can help us in the fight,” she said.
Airport employees are already required to complete human trafficking training before they can receive an employee badge.
They redo it when they renew their badge.
Norris is trying to finish digital human trafficking to offer law enforcement, before the World Cup.
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