DALLAS - The thrill of travel often manifests itself as soon as we arrive at a new destination. Our senses are wired to take in new sights, sounds, and even smells. The fascinating screenplay of life that unfolds as one leaves the airport and begins their onward journey, can also show humanity at its most vulnerable and weakest. One flight attendant noticed and took action.

Nancy Rivard is the founder of Airline Ambassadors International (AAI), a 501(C)3 charity she created in 1997. She is an aviation veteran, having worked for American Airlines (AA) for 37 years. Equipped with an MBA, she began her AA career in management and then transitioned to a flight attendant supervisor before finally becoming a flight attendant. A career that went in the opposite direction of what we're used to seeing on the corporate ladder.

She explained that her father's untimely death gave her a new perspective on life, and she resolved to travel more and follow her intuition. This inspired her to create a way to combine her love of travel with a growing desire to help those in need. Her inspiration became Airline Ambassadors International, founded with the mantra of ‘Traveling to make a difference’.

Focus Points

The organization is focused on three main areas:

First and foremost: service to those less fortunate through the Humanitarian Missions Program. AAI began by bringing groups of airline personnel to orphanages to give them much-needed donations, whilst sharing care and compassion. In the beginning, airline employees could travel 'space available' fairly easily and bring as many bags of donations as they wanted, at no extra cost. With this benefit, AAI 'angels' were able to bring desperately needed shoes, clothing, school supplies, and more to many orphanages around the world.

As such, AAI was even more needed in times of disaster, as it brought in critical supplies and helped nations rebuild, as they did after the earthquakes in Haiti, Thailand, El Salvador, and Japan.

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Second, the charity assists in arranging air travel to the US for ailing children in need of medical treatment through their Medical Escort Program. This initiative is supported by the generosity of airlines and their employees. Volunteer airline employees frequently use their own travel concessions to assist with the transfer process. Many children around the world have received life-saving and life-changing medical care through this scheme, which they would not have received in their own country.

Finally, AAI has established itself as a leader in educating the industry and improving awareness of human trafficking. The charity has shone the spotlight on the issue and trained airlines and airports all over the world, on how to better identify and intercept trafficked passengers.

AAI was the first to launch what Nancy called an "industry-specific human trafficking awareness campaign." These efforts helped lead to the requirement for all airlines to train their staff in the US.

Deep Connections

At the heart of the charity are the deep and meaningful personal connections that are formed with the people that are helped. Rivard confirms that this has a special meaning for her, recalling a time when she sponsored a child in Sri Lanka through a large global charity. She lamented the loss of contact with the child and vowed that this would never happen again in AAI. The founder is dedicated to preserving these deeply personal connections at a grassroots level.

Furthermore, she is adamant about dispelling any notion that allowing the charity to grow will deprive it of its personal touch.

Rivard spoke to Airways from El Salvador, where she and her husband Dave had relocated from the US during the pandemic. Through the years, AAI has had a profound impact on many lives El Salvador as a result of its mission-based work. In a fascinating twist, this impact even reached the country's current President and his family.

Her husband has a long history in the construction industry, and El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele tasked him with driving transformative change in how his country regulates the construction industry. The aftermath of a hurricane that ripped through El Salvador, destroying many buildings, prompted this collaboration.

The breadth of AAI's deployment coverage is impressive by literally spanning the globe. Aside from alleviating poverty in the developing world, the charity also assists those displaced by war, as is the case with Ukraine's ongoing conflict. AAI currently operates a mission in Poland to provide housing for Ukrainians fleeing their besieged homeland.

Explore and More

AAI is now expanding its ability to assist its vetted projects by introducing 'Explore and More', a program that allows travelers to add a humanitarian component to their itinerary. The charity will connect travelers to contacts in a specific country and help plan a vacation with a difference, thereby giving more travelers the opportunity to 'Travel to Make a Difference'.

The Medical Escort Program is one of the most visible ways that airline employees have made a difference. Eastern Airlines (EA) was a forerunner in this initiative during its existence, thanks to former employee Margaret Whitehead. Later, she joined AAI to help develop the escort program.

AAI has flown over 3,000 children for life-changing surgeries to date, and Rivard is determined that the supply of seats meets future demand. United Airlines (UA) has recently supported the effort. She stated that UA has recently supported the program allowing travelers to donate miles to this effort.

Rivard claims that the industry is only scratching the surface in its efforts to combat human trafficking and that there is enormous potential for more to be done. This is dependent on investment and a desire for the industry to address a problem that is so pervasive. Rivard recounted numerous incidents in which friends and even her husband witnessed human trafficking while traveling.

The latter situation demonstrates how fragmented the global system for reporting human trafficking is. She bemoaned the fact that her husband spent a lengthy period holding onto the phone, whilst trying to speak to an official after observing a suspected trafficking incident, calling the situation, "unbelievable."

Better use of smartphone technology, including in-built cameras, could be critical in allowing government officials to stay one step ahead of those responsible. AAI has worked hard to develop such transformation, but the response from the airline industry has been portrayed as lackluster, with Rivard admitting that "no one is interested.”

A plea for help

According to Rivard, immigration and customs officials are frequently the last lines of defense, but such encounters are often too brief. Cabin crew, on the other hand, will spend more time interacting with passengers and, with the appropriate training, are arguably the best-placed individuals to identify trafficked passengers.

When Rivard has addressed pan-industry workshops on human trafficking, she said there was often standing room only, but a final burst of impetus to propel change is sadly lacking.

When asked what AAI most needs from the airline industry, the answer was simple: cargo capacity and tickets for children to be escorted. AAI is not limited to airline employees as anyone can join for as little as US$35 per year and anyone can receive regular updates on the charity's activities. AAI is open to new projects as the goal is to continue to help where it is needed.

As a result, the charity's future success is entirely dependent on members leveraging personal contacts and relationships to facilitate new projects. "So far, we've been able to make things happen." Accreditation as a UN NGO helps to grease the wheels when new projects are being negotiated.

Finally, Rivard enthusiastically describes how close she is to finish her book, Wings of Love'. The project is expected to be completed within the next few months. If writing your own book wasn't enough of a challenge, she modestly admitted that her story could be made into a film. The story has already piqued the interest of a production company.

AAI's history is a wonderful story of human compassion intersecting with a love of travel, resulting in a cascade of lives being transformed. Rivard's deep passion for using aviation to reach out to the most vulnerable is contagious, and it leads one to believe that writing a book and coordinating the production of a film is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg.

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Featured image: Rivard is pictured in front of a Douglas DC-3 operated by the charity Remote Area Medical. Image: Nancy Rivard.