Houston budget airline Avelo to fly deportation flights for ICE, sparking boycotts
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Houston-based budget carrier Avelo Airlines has entered a long-term agreement to operate deportation flights for Immigration and Customs Enforcement — a decision the CEO says will support company growth, but one that's drawing boycotts and criticism.
State of play: The deportation flights, set to begin in May, are part of a charter agreement with the Department of Homeland Security, per the airline.
- Avelo will operate out of Mesa Gateway Airport near Phoenix using three Boeing 737-800s.
- It's unclear how much the contract is for and how long it lasts. Avelo and DHS have not responded to Axios' request for specifics.
What they're saying: "We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic," Avelo Airlines founder and CEO Andrew Levy said in a statement to Axios. But Levy added the move will "provide us with the stability to continue expanding" and protect jobs.
- Levy said the airline also flew deportation flights under the Biden administration.
- A job listing for its Mesa operations says Avelo is "seeking energetic, highly motivated" flight attendants to staff deportation flights.
The other side: A petition demanding that Avelo halt its plans with ICE, launched by the New Haven Immigrant Heritage Coalition, garnered over 7,100 signatures as of Wednesday afternoon.
- "We pledge to boycott the airline until they stop plans to profit off [ICE] flights that are tearing families and communities apart," the petition reads.
- Posts on social media have echoed calls to boycott.
Between the lines: ProPublica this month reported that detainees on ICE deportation flights often vanish from tracking systems, leaving families and attorneys in the dark about their whereabouts.
- There are also safety concerns, ProPublica reported, saying some flight attendants were trained in general evacuation procedures but not instructed on how to assist shackled passengers in emergencies.
Zoom in: Avelo Airlines, founded in Houston in 2018, began flying in 2021. Its first Houston flight launched last year, connecting Hobby Airport to New Haven, Connecticut.
- The airline now offers nonstop service from Houston to New Haven and Wilmington, North Carolina.