Airline travelers should be aware of the emergency signal “Code Adam.”
The time-sensitive alert is employed over the airport’s loudspeakers when a child goes missing.
“Code Adam is designed to locate missing children quickly with an immediate and coordinated search, often resolved within minutes,” John Bischoff, vice president of the Missing Children Division at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), told Travel + Leisure. “This resource has been widely adopted and remains a critical child-safety tool.”
The system was launched in 1994 and named after Adam Walsh, a 6-year-old who was abducted from a Sears department store in Hollywood, Fla. His parents, John and Revé Walsh, also co-founded the NCMEC.
“Code Adam is one of the nation’s largest child safety programs, and is used in hundreds of thousands of locations across the country,” Bischoff said.
However, the same protocol is used in any setting. The steps include:
- Get a description
- Page “Code Adam”
- Begin the search—all available staff should begin looking for the child
- Call the police
- Locate the child
- Conclude the incident
“Code Adam is used at airports just like any other establishment, and follows the same core steps in any location,” Bischoff explained. “Trained staff will quickly gather a detailed description of the child and begin a search of the location. Employees are assigned specific roles and locations to monitor, including entrances, exits, restrooms, and back rooms.”
Bischoff said that people traveling “should remain calm, stay with their group, and follow directions from airport staff.”
“If travelers notice a child matching the description, they should immediately alert airport staff, security, or law enforcement,” he added. “They should also avoid going to restricted areas or spreading unverified information during the search.”