Jana Thomas is the former General Manager of Emergency Operations and Business Continuity for Delta Airlines, having retired in 2020 with over 29 years of experience in the aviation industry. As an emergency response professional, Jana has extensive experience in planning, training, logistics, deployment, response, and after-action analysis. During her career, Jana has successfully prepared for and responded to crisis events including natural and manmade disasters, security incidents and aircraft accidents.

During the late 90’s Jana was responsible for Delta’s Reservations Operation Center in Atlanta which focused primarily on irregular operations and crisis management for Reservations. During a crisis event, she and her team were responsible for manifest verification, passenger inquiry and family assistance.

In 2007 Jana assumed responsibility for Delta’s Corporate Emergency Program, including oversite of Delta’s Emergency Command Center and all response teams. During a crisis event requiring activation of the Go Team, Jana became the Go Team Incident Commander.

Jana was a 2010 recipient of Delta’s most prestigious honor, the Chairman’s Club Award. It is a peer-to-peer employee recognition program, honoring women and men across the company’s worldwide operation of over 80,000 employees who embody reliability, innovation, thoughtfulness, and servant leadership, and who demonstrate the highest standards of service to customers. In addition, Jana was also North America’s IATA Representative and later became the ER Group’s Chair. She was also the Chair of both the SkyTeam ER Board and A4A while Delta was a member.

In her career, Jana has responded to five major Delta/Delta Connection accidents, 2 foreign carrier accidents, a terrorist bombing, an active shooter, severe weather events, and numerous lesser emergencies. She is also certified in Project Management and Change Management, and has a Six Sigma Black Belt and Green Belt.