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By the end of June, a majority of employees at King County International Airport (KCIA) will have completed training to learn how to recognize and report human trafficking. The training, a 17-minute video, is part of the Blue Lightning campaign by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. New hires also will take the training as part of their onboarding process.
“It’s a very timely issue, it’s an issue that’s very important,” said John Parrott, KCIA Director. “Being in one of the hotbed areas in the country for human trafficking, while we don’t have a lot of people being moved against their will here at KCIA, you never know. We certainly don’t want to be the place people use because we’re not prepared.”
The airport recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the DOT and Homeland Security to use their training, posters, and other support materials to raise awareness about human trafficking.
“The DHS Blue Campaign is proud to partner with DOT and the King County International Airport to combat human trafficking,” said Blue Campaign Acting Program Manager Brandi Bynum. “Traffickers do not discriminate, and when transportation is involved, they often move their victims on domestic and international flights. This BLI partnership will ensure that airport staff are trained how to recognize and report the indicators of human trafficking that are often subtle but in plain view.”
“The DOT is taking action across all modes of transportation and with partners throughout the Federal government to stop the flow of human trafficking, and is helping transportation industry sectors to recognize the signs of human trafficking and report suspicious activity,” the MOU states.
Greg Thomas, Chief of Airport Rescue and Firefighting, invited King County Sherriff Deputy Mike Garske, to present at an all staff meeting before COVID-19 hit. Garske helped secure the Blue Lightning partnership with the federal government.
Thomas said Garske, who recently retired, was a detective in KCSO’s special assault unit and worked to find missing persons.
“What’s fueling the human trafficking trade is the need for massage and nail salon workers. They often use non-English speaking immigrants who are here against their will,” Thomas said. “They’re promised the rosy life and then when they get here, they are made to work very hard and some are forced to turn to the sex industry. Their handlers control basic needs such as food and housing. That’s the connection and the concern.”
“While we have no indicator that our airport is used for human trafficking, we need to get up to industry standards to make sure we aren’t the weak link,” Parrott said. “We need to do what we can do to prevent it.”
The training teaches airline and airport personnel what behaviors can be red flags for human trafficking, such as controlling a victim’s documents, preventing them from talking to others, and a “non-genuine” relationship, especially between and adult and a child.
“We can be better informed travelers,” Parrott said. “As an airport person, I’m always looking for new ideas at other airports when I travel. But I never thought about watching the people to see if there’s anything bad going on.”
“I think if we just intervene and one person is kept out of that life of severe servitude, that’s got to be personally very satisfying,” Thomas said.
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More than 100 people walked or biked from Seward Park to the memorial for Mike Colmant, while his family and others Zoomed in from Canada. The day was warm and sunny in Seattle, a fitting tribute to Mike, who was eulogized by many in attendance as a warm, giving friend, father and colleague.
Mike was also remembered as an avid athlete. He competed in a number of marathons and half-marathons, and was even a ten-time finisher in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii.
Our thoughts go out to Mike's family.
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For Raleigh Salazar, getting involved in an airport fencing project facing the Georgetown community isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s personal.
“I want to protect the airport from the security perspective but I’m pretty excited about this because I actually grew up for a time in Georgetown,” Salazar said. “I want to do something to enhance the neighborhood.”
So when the airport started looking at replacing fences around the airport, Salazar knew that the north-end fence segment was one that the community would care about. The northwest property, also known as the Rosso site, abuts Ellis Avenue, S. Albro Pl, S. Hardy St and S. Elizabeth St. It is surrounded by a deteriorated fence that the airport owns. There are gaps and excessive damage to the fence, creating a security issue for the airport.
“This is a relatively small project, but it is the most neighborhood facing area of the airport, it is worth it to do this as the airport is part of this neighborhood,” Salazar said.
“If you’re looking out across the fence line, you can see the steam plant, and a view of aircraft landing and departing. On a clear day, you can see Mt. Rainier from here. There’s some real nice features for folks to see. We don’t want to close those off.”
Salazar and the team, including Aaron Ison and a designer, have some initial ideas to provide fencing preserving the “view shed.”
“We’re going to do a setback, bring the fence line 10 feet back to allow an opportunity to do some green landscaping, more vegetation, potentially some other approaches like some greener materials,” Salazar said. “It’s kind of a blank slate right now because we want community input.”
In June and July, the airport will engage with the community to find out their needs in terms of the neighborhood look and feel.
The goal is to start construction in the late fall. Then in late 2022, the City of Seattle will begin work on a separated mixed-use trail between Georgetown and South Park. Read more in The Urbanist about the plans for the trail.
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The airport held two “visioning sessions” in May to share more about the relocation of some aircraft to the proposed Midfield Airpark Development. These aircraft need to be relocated because they are currently parked in the runway protection zone where aircraft are not allowed to park.
The airport wanted to hear what tenants would like to see in the new development.
“Some great ideas came from these sessions, including providing a restroom nearby and creating a way for electric aircraft to charge,” said Matt Sykora, Properties and Business
Development Administrator.
The airport and consulting team will put together a few concepts of what this area could look like and get the stakeholders input on these plans. The next meeting will take place in early July at a date yet to be set.
If you would like to provide feedback to the airport, please send an email to KCIACommunityOutreach@kingcounty.gov.
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