PHOENIX — Avelo Airlines will begin operating deportation flights for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) out of Arizona starting in May, the airline confirmed this week.
The Houston-based budget carrier has signed a charter agreement with the Department of Homeland Security to support ICE deportations, a move Avelo CEO Andrew Levy acknowledged may be controversial.
“We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic,” Levy said. “This decision helps ensure the long-term success of our airline and protects jobs.”
The flights — both domestic and international — will be based at Mesa Gateway Airport and operated with three Boeing 737-800 aircraft, according to the company. A job listing for the Arizona operation confirms the flights are part of DHS’s deportation program.
Critics call deal “deeply disturbing”
The announcement has sparked backlash, particularly in New Haven, Connecticut, where Avelo is based at Tweed New Haven Airport. Mayor Justin Elicker said he personally called Levy to voice his opposition.
“Avelo Airlines’ decision is deeply disappointing and disturbing,” Elicker said in a statement. “For a company that claims to represent New Haven, this decision is antithetical to our values. Travel should be about bringing people together, not tearing families apart.”
Immigrant advocates in New Haven launched a petition urging a boycott of the airline.
Tom Cartwright, a flight analyst with Witness at the Border, called Avelo’s involvement “unusual,” noting that deportation flights are typically handled by lesser-known charter carriers, not consumer-facing airlines.
“They might fly a plane full of deportees one day and golf fans to the Masters the next,” he said. “But they don’t normally sell retail tickets like Avelo does.”
