An airline that recently made headlines for agreeing to take deportation flights for the Trump administration will shutter its hub in Southern California, according to multiple reports. Avelo Airlines announced the move on Monday, July 14, but said it has nothing to do with the backlash it received from agreeing to operate U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deportation flights earlier this year.
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Staff transfers and initial success
The airline said that it will give staff at its Burbank hub the opportunity to transfer elsewhere and move planes to various bases across the country. The low-cost air carrier once invested heavily in Burbank, quickly expanding to parts of Northern California, Oregon and for a short time, Montana.
In 2023, Avelo celebrated its milestone of 1 million passengers and called Burbank flights one of its most successful hubs, which accounted for one-third of all of its customers then. However, company leaders said it is now experiencing new challenges that make it difficult to continue providing services to destinations along the West Coast.
Winding down of operations
CEO Andrew Levy said on Monday that the airline would be reducing the number of planes departing from Los Angeles County to one by the middle of August, before closing down operations completely at the base on Dec. 2. That shutdown will correspond with Avelo ending all West Coast operations, according to company officials.
The reason for the move
Levy said the decision was difficult, but failed to give a detailed reason as to why the airline is shutting down its operations with its longtime partner in Burbank.
“We believe the continuation of service from [Hollywood Burbank Airport] in the current operating environment will not deliver adequate financial returns in a highly competitive backdrop,” Levy said.
The company will reportedly relocate its current fleet at Burbank to various locations across the country as part of its “efficient longer-term growth prospects” as it aims to expand its operations footprint along the East Coast.
Passengers with upcoming flights are able to cancel online, and refunds are available.
Avelo sparked controversy earlier this year after it announced it had partnered with ICE to provide charter flights to help with enhanced deportation efforts under President Donald Trump. Those operations led to calls for a boycott and backlash from lawmakers in New York.
Deportation flights are a nonfactor?
A spokesperson for Avelo refuted any notion that backlash from that decision had anything to do with its move to shutter its Burbank operations. They said that the airline had invested substantial time and effort that simply did not produce the “result necessary” to continue West Coast operations.
Avelo first began flights in 2021 and has operated out of Burbank for more than four years.
