Avelo Airlines has begun its deportation flights for the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The budget airline announced the deal with the government in April and has decided to use three of its Boeing 737 aircraft for these flights.
The airline has received significant backlash for its decision to carry out these flights, although its CEO said the money from this deal would help bring stability to its business and help Avelo keep its thousands of workers employed for years to come.
Avelo Officially Begins Deportation Flights
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On May 12, budget carrier Avelo Airlines
started deploying its Boeing 737 aircraft for federal deportation flights out of Arizona. The airline is assisting the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with its deportation flights and operating these flights from Mesa, Arizona. These flights will primarily be flown internationally, mostly to South American countries, such as Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, but some will also fly domestically across the US.
As noted by The New York Times, Avelo’s aircraft departed from Mesa, Arizona, on Monday and arrived at Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana, which is one of the several locations where the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducts regular flights. Avelo’s decision to sign this deal raised many eyebrows, but its management maintains that this is primarily being done to add to the airline’s revenue to support its core passenger flights.
When reports of Avelo’s agreement surfaced last month, its CEO, Andrew Levy, realized the sensitivity of the operations and said, “We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic. After significant deliberations, we determined this charter flying will provide us with the stability to continue expanding our core scheduled passenger service and keep our more than 1,100 Crewmembers employed for years to come.”
Backlash Over The Decision
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Deportation of immigrants from the United States can often divide opinions and ruffle feathers. While regular commercial airlines sometimes perform charter services, operating flights for ICE is mostly reserved for dedicated charter airlines. So, when Avelo Airlines agreed to carry out operations for the federal government, it opened itself to a lot of divided opinions and even backlash from the general public as well as some politicians.
As reported by News 8 WTNH, over 100 people gathered with signs and bullhorns outside Tweed New Haven Airport to protest these deportation flights. Situated in Connecticut, Tweed New Haven Airport is Avelo’s largest base. Some people were offended by Avelo’s decision, while some were indifferent. News 8 WTNH’s report quotes one of the airline’s passengers, Chuck Maurer, who said that he would not avoid the airline, adding, “I’m not necessarily one side or the other, although I see Avelo on this one, that is great money, right?”
However, last month, Justin Elicker, mayor of New Haven, expressed his displeasure and said that Avelo Airlines’ decision to charter deportation flights from Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona is deeply disappointing and disturbing. He added that for a company that “champions themselves as ‘New Haven’s hometown airline,’ this business decision in antithetical to New Haven’s values. Travel should be about bringing people together, not tearing families apart.”
Related
Here’s What This Former Avelo Airlines Flight Attendant Has To Say About Its Deportation Flights
Beyond the public backlash, flight attendants are increasingly voicing concerns about the safety of deportation flights.
US Immigration And Customs Enforcement
Photo: Sharkovski | Shutterstock
According to its official website, ICE was created in 2003 through a merger of the investigative and interior enforcement elements of the former US Customs Service and the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The agency has an annual budget of approximately $8 billion, primarily devoted to three operational directorates — Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), and Office of the Principal Legal Advisor (OPLA).
It has more than 20,000 law enforcement and support personnel in more than 400 offices in the United States and around the world. ICE also maintains an aviation division called ICE Air Operations (IAO) or ‘ICE Air,’ which supports all 24 ICE field offices by facilitating the transfer and removal of noncitizens via air transport. For this, it primarily takes the services of dedicated charter operators, and these for-profit charter operations can represent contracts worth millions of dollars.
