U.N. agency urges mandatory training to combat human trafficking on flights

FILE PHOTO - A bird passes in the foreground as a passenger aircraft makes it's final landing approach towards Heathrow Airport at dawn in west London Britain, April 18, 2016. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

MONTREAL (Reuters) - Airlines should offer mandatory training to prevent human trafficking, the United Nations' aviation agency said in a new document that could further empower cabin crew on the front lines of global efforts to combat such trafficking.

Civil aviation authorities should "require" carriers to teach staff to identify and respond to trafficking, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) said in new training guidelines for cabin crew co-published on Monday with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.