Low-cost airline faces backlash after agreeing to operate ICE's deportation flights

A small airline has made a pact to operate deportation flights for the federal government, and the decision is causing mixed reactions alongside calls for a boycott. Avelo Airlines, an ultra-low-cost carrier, announced it would begin assisting with the government's deportation efforts in May.

The airline's deal with the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is part of a "long-term charter program" to assist deportation efforts, Avelo Airlines CEO Andrew Levy said in a statement, acknowledging this is a "sensitive and complicated topic." Some are calling for fliers to shun the airline as a result.

Where are these flights happening?

The flights will be "operated by three Boeing 737-800 aircraft based at Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona and will begin on May 12," said USA Today. Avelo is planning to open a larger base at the airport and is "hiring flight attendants and aircraft technicians to work and service the charters."

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There is indeed a full-time job posting on Avelo's website for a flight attendant based out of the Mesa airport. The job is part of a "charter program for the Department of Homeland Security. Flights will be both domestic and international trips to support DHS' deportation efforts," according to the posting.

Why is Avelo Airlines doing this?

The airline insists that it is a business decision and is not politically motivated. The deportation flights will "provide us with the stability to continue expanding our core scheduled passenger service and keep our more than 1,100 crew members employed for years to come," Levy said in his statement. The airline "declined to disclose the size of the contract or how much revenue the flights may bring in" when asked by Business Insider.

The move is likely part of a continued push by Levy to grow the airline, which reported its first-ever profitable quarter in February 2024. However, the decision is "unusual considering charter companies the public likely hasn't heard of typically make these flights," said Tom Cartwright, a flight data analyst for the advocacy group Witness at the Border, to The Associated Press.

What has the response been?

The airline has received some ire for assisting President Donald Trump's efforts at mass deportation. Avelo "was swiftly criticized for its new agreement, with hundreds pledging to boycott the airline," said the Houston Chronicle. Protesters "demand that Avelo Air halt plans to carry out deportation flights in cooperation with the Trump Administration," according to a change.org petition with over 14,000 signatures as of April 9. The protesters "pledge to boycott the airline until they stop plans to profit off ICE flights that are tearing families and communities apart."

Some officials have also criticized Avelo's flights. The airline's "decision to charter deportation flights from Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona is deeply disappointing and disturbing," Justin Elicker, the mayor of New Haven, Connecticut, told the New Haven Register. Avelo has a hub at New Haven's regional airport and is a large player in Connecticut's aviation business. For a "company that champions themselves as 'New Haven's hometown airline,' this business decision is antithetical to New Haven's values." Avelo did not mention the use of the New Haven airport in its deportation plans.

Some former Avelo employees are also expressing concern. The "alarm bells that were going off in my head, like as a flight attendant is, you know, holy crap. This is so, so dangerous," a former Avelo flight attendant said to KTVK-TV Arizona. Any "flight attendant, any aviation professional, anybody can look at that situation and say that it's a disaster waiting to happen."