28 Jul 2018

No charges after Hawaiian Airlines staff suspect human trafficking

5:33 pm on 28 July 2018

Hawaiian Airlines says it has updated a blog post that claimed three flight attendants helped to stop a human trafficking case on a flight to Honolulu, after the FBI confirmed no crime had been committed.

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Photo: AFP

Hawaii News Now reported that the airline said its attendants saw an older Asian man boarding a flight out of Los Angeles with three young girls and thought something seemed suspicious, so they alerted authorities.

But FBI agents who investigated the complaint say the man was authorised to take the girls on vacation and found there was no evidence of criminal activity.

Hawaiian Airlines had posted the original blog post before following it up with authorities. They also distributed the story to the media.

Despite the FBI confirming no criminal activity had taken place, an airline spokesperson and the FBI both praised the flight attendants for being alert and observant.

"We do appreciate Hawaiian Airlines employees for speaking out and saying something and bringing it to our attention," said Jason K. White, spokesman for the Honolulu FBI field office.

"We encourage people to remember that if something seems strange or doesn't feel right most times something is wrong, however, that was not the case in this incident."