The company’s CEO acknowledged the move may be controversial, but said it would help with expansion and protect jobs.
Budget carrier Avelo Airlines signed an agreement to fly federal deportation flights from Arizona beginning in May, according to the company, whose founder acknowledging the decision may be controversial.
Andrew Levy, also the company's CEO, said Avelo is flying for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration Control and Enforcement agency as part of a “long-term charter program” to support the agency's deportation efforts.
The company decided the move would help with expansion and protect jobs, he said.
“We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic," Levy said in a statement.
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The domestic and international flights will be supported by three Boeing 737-800 planes and based at Mesa Gateway Airport Flights, Avelo said in a statement.
In an online job listing for the Arizona operation, Avelo states the “flights will be both domestic and international trips to support DHS’s deportation efforts.”
Tom Cartwright, a flight data analyst for the advocacy group Witness at the Border, whose social media feeds are closely watched in immigration circles, said he isn't aware of any other commercial airlines who've provided such flights for ICE in the past five years that he's been tracking flights.
He called the decision by Avelo “unusual" considering charter companies the public likely hasn't heard of typically make these flights.
“They may fly a flight with all migrants or deportation flights today and they might fly fans to the Masters golf tournament tomorrow,” Cartwright said. “They don’t they don’t sell tickets in a retail manner like Avelo does.”
In New Haven, Connecticut, where Avelo flies out of Tweed New Haven Airport, Democratic Mayor Justin Elicker said he called Levy over the weekend to express his opposition to the arrangement and urged the CEO to reconsider.
“Avelo Airlines’ decision to charter deportation flights from Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona is deeply disappointing and disturbing. For a company that champions themselves as ‘New Haven’s hometown airline,’ this business decision in antithetical to New Haven’s values,” Elicker said in a statement.
“Travel should be about bringing people together, not tearing families apart,” he added.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker expressed his disappointment to Avelo’s CEO, and said he was surprised to see them take part in this.
“For a strong partner in New Haven to be participating in something like this is disappointing and doesn’t reflect our values,” Elicker said. “I reached out to the CEO to express my disappointment and ask them to change their decision. I think that it’s not a good decision from a values perspective, but I also worry it’s not a good decision from a business perspective because a lot of New Haven residents want to support businesses that they agree with and have some corporate responsibility.”
An immigrant rights group in New Haven is urging people to sign an online petition, pledging to boycott the airline. It already has thousands of signatures.
“The goal is very simple. The goal is don’t do this Avelo. Don’t do these deportation flights. Be more ethical than that. Understand the difference between an ethical dollar and an unethical dollar,” Hope Chavez said.
“They believe that this is what they need to stabilize their business operations. I think what they’re hoping we believe is that in order to serve us, we need to swallow this pill that that’s what it costs to do business. But I’m hoping that our community, and I really believe our community knows the difference between taking a family vacation and taking a family vacation that funds family separations. If this is the business they want to be, then they don’t need to be here," she continued.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
