resumption of 11 of American Airlines’ transatlantic routes and the return of Aer Lingus for the first time since 2020.

We’ve been waiting two years to have this level of international service at PHL once again and the upcoming weeks will be incredibly busy as we make final preparations for the relaunch of daily flights to cities such as Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Paris, Dublin, Rome, Lisbon, London (twice a day), Madrid, Venice and Zurich. This is an exciting time for the airport. To celebrate the restored service, the PHL Airport Art Program has commissioned some of its featured artists to create pins for passengers and flight crews, as well as prints, that highlight these destinations. 

Transatlantic service is extremely important to the airport’s viability as a business and to the continuing pandemic recovery of the Division of Aviation and the Greater Philadelphia region. This is our time to shine. Our terminals must be in top shape and our airport partners must be prepared to welcome guests using PHL as their connection point between the U.S. and the world.  

The successful relaunch of these routes is critical as we work with airlines to restore PHL’s international offerings to pre-pandemic levels. In 2021, we welcomed more than 19.6 million passengers at the airport, up 65.5 percent from 2020. If international travel restrictions had be lifted earlier in the year, that passenger count could have been even higher.  

The past two years have been full of stops and starts—whenever we thought we had turned a corner, a new COVID variant would stall recovery efforts. We cannot relive 2020 and 2021. But as we push forward with our continued pandemic recovery, we cannot forget how volatile the virus is. Remember to take care of yourselves, your families and your colleagues. Continue practicing protocols and pay attention to the frequently evolving health and safety guidelines.    

Thank you for your continued hard work. 

Chellie  

HR Updates

Employee Self Identification Census - Office of LGBT Affairs 

Play a key role in making city government a more diverse and inclusive place to work. The City of Philadelphia has expanded identity selections to gain a more accurate representation of our multicultural workforce.  Employees can use OnePhilly to self-select identities that reflect their diverse characteristics.  All employees are encouraged to complete the self-identification census. Participation can support the city’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Employees can access the census at any time to update their self-identification information. 

• A one-pager about the Employee Self Identification Census can be found HERE. 
• A link to the User Guide for the Employee Self Identification Census can be found: HERE. 
• A link to a comprehensive glossary of LGBTQ-related terms for those interested in a general-use resource can be found: HERE. 

For questions or additional support, please reach out to The Office of LGBT Affairs at 215-686-0330. 

Rework Reminders 

Please note there have been no changes to the mask mandate.   

Non-vaccinated workers must double-mask 

Workers shouldn’t gather unmasked for any reason.  

Employees are also reminded to use the city’s health screener daily and and follow the guidance:  https://www.phila.gov/employee-screener/#/ 

• If you are not well, stay home.  
• DOA employees must inform their supervisor and HR/Safety if they have not been cleared for work. Questions related to the employee screener may be forwarded to [email protected]. 

MARCH NATIONAL HEALTH OBSERVANCES 

See the list below for national health observances in the month of March. Click on the links for more information.  

NATIONAL COLORECTAL CANCER AWARENESS MONTH 

NATIONAL KIDNEY MONTH 

NATIONAL NUTRITION MONTH 

NATIONAL FROZEN FOOD MONTH 

WORKPLACE EYE WELLNESS MONTH 

SALT AWARENESS WEEK (MARCH 11-17) (from page Click for special issue on cardiovascular disease prevention and diet salt reduction) 

SLEEP AWARENESS WEEK (MARCH 13-19)  

WORLD KIDNEY DAY (MARCH 10)  

WORLD SLEEP DAY (MARCH 18) 

AMERICAN DIABETES ALERT DAY (MARCH 22) 

BONUS: Try the Mindfulness March Challenge using this fun calendar!  

MARCH EMPLOYEE ASSISTANCE PROGRAM NEWSLETTER: HERE 

TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF EMPLOYEE UPDATES DIRECTLY TO YOUR PHONE, EMAIL [email protected] WITH YOUR EMAIL AND/OR CELL PHONE NUMBER. 

Staff Promotions 

Congratulations to the Division of Aviation employees who were promoted in the month of February: 

David Gainer  — Equipment Operator 2

Jason Sankey — Airport Operations Superintendent

Jerry Germain — Airport Operations Officer 

Larry Edwards  — Equipment Operator 2

Roxanne Gliwa — Clerk 3

Shawn Lee — Equipment Operator 2

New Hires

Welcome all Division of Aviation employees who were hired in the month of February: 

Brian Naldzin — Airport Operations Trainee

Isaiah Kaplan — Bilingual Receptionist

Maria Jackson — Bilingual Receptionist

Shawn Hawes — Public Information Officer

Virgil Robinson — Airport Operations Trainee

Information Security  

Throughout the year, especially around the holidays and during tax season, you extend your cyber footprint by paying bills, shopping, using social media, and many other digital activities whether for business or pleasure. Spring cleaning your technology and cyber footprint is a great opportunity to remove some of that extra clutter from your cyber life while at the same time helping to protecting you and your loved ones. 

To help your cyber spring-cleaning efforts, we developed a short checklist to help you through the process: 

Passwords 

• Review your passwords, updating them as needed, and ensuring they are strong. 
• Establish a unique password for each account and consider using a password manager if you haven’t in the past. 
• Remember to use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) on accounts wherever it is available, especially on accounts that have financial information such as online banking, credit card, and retirement accounts. 

Email 

• Review all your email accounts. 
• Organize folders of emails that you want to keep, delete and purge emails that you no longer need. 
• Be sure that there is no personally identifiable information stored in your mailbox. 
• Review and update your contacts. Delete contacts that are no longer necessary or current. 
• Review and update email filters to send spam and unwanted e-marketing messages directly to trash or another folder. 
• Enable MFA whenever possible. 

Stale Applications 

• Review your applications and remove those you no longer use. 

Social Media 

• Review your social media accounts and your privacy settings. 
• Review any photos or videos and delete those that you no longer need or want to make viewable. 
• Search yourself online to see what comes up. 
• When deleting an account, be sure to delete the entire profile and not just the app from your phone. 

Clean Desk 

• Shred old and unnecessary paperwork both at home and at the office. 
• Ensure paper documents that contain personally identifiable information, financial information, or other sensitive information is properly stored and locked up. 
• Don’t write down passwords or security answers on paper and leave them out. 

Update Devices 

• Make sure all applications, operating systems, and devices (computers, phones, tablets, smart devices, TVs, etc.) are updated, and are set to update on a regular basis. 

The Latest from PHL’s Online Newsroom  

At the Airport:  

Hello, Hola, Bonjour, Xin Chao: PHL’s Passenger Assistance Team Provides Multilingual Support for Guests 

The Passenger Assistance team at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) has 30 years of experience assisting passengers as they navigate their way throughout the airport and find their next destination. The team is part of the Guest Experience (GX) Department and assists U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as needed by translating important information to arriving international passengers.    

PHL’s Volunteer Program Welcomes Students from the Philadelphia Schools District Vocational Itinerant Special Education Program  

Last year marked the 20th anniversary of the Volunteer Navigators Program at PHL, and the airport celebrated by expanding the program to seek dedicated, friendly individuals who enjoy helping others, are interested in travel and hospitality, and love the Greater Philadelphia region. This recruitment effort includes a unique and special partnership with three local high schools – Benjamin Franklin High School, West Philadelphia High School, and South Philadelphia High School – to welcome students with learning disabilities and autism into the volunteer program. Twelve students have already completed the clearance process, received their badges and are completing weekly Navigator shifts.  

PHL Pilots Virtual Information Program  

Philadelphia International Airport’s (PHL) Guest Experience and IT departments have been working in collaboration to launch a new and innovative way to assist travelers. The Virtual Information Program will allow guests to have live, virtual interactions with the airport’s Information Services team to enhance the current methods of assisting passengers at PHL. Operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week, travelers will be able to contact a live person for assistance with general questions. 

People at PHL 

Black Women Leaders Join Division of Aviation for Racial Equity Roundtable  

As part of the Division of Aviation’s Black History Month celebration, the airport’s Racial Equity Advisory Council (REAC) hosted a Racial Equity Virtual Roundtable on February 17 with Sara Lomax-Reese, President and CEO of WURD Radio and co-founder of URL Media ; Nefertiri Sickout, Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer for the City of Philadelphia, Mayor’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; and Eboni Wimbush, President and CEO of the Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC). The panel was moderated by Deatrice Isaac, Deputy of Airport Procurement.   

PHL Impression-Makers: JetBlue Airways Training Liaison Dana Ellis 

PHL Impression-Makers: Chickie’s & Pete’s Bartender Carlos A. Pena