Protests, calls for boycotts and threats from lawmakers in New York and Connecticut to rescind a fuel tax exemption didn’t stop low-fare air carrier Avelo from operating its first flight for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as it departed from Mesa, Arizona. The New York Times confirmed the flight took off on Monday morning, according to flight tracking data obtained by the outlet.
Why Avelo agreed
The new venture for the startup airline comes after it recently agreed to operate deportation flights for the Trump administration, as Straight Arrow News previously reported. It also follows efforts by New York and Connecticut lawmakers to remove fuel tax exemptions for airlines that operate flights for ICE as the Trump administration finds itself in legal battles over the issues, with critics accusing the administration of deporting people without due process.
The Times reports that the first plane arrived at Alexandria International Airport in Louisiana on the afternoon of Monday, May 12. The airport is one of five locations where ICE coordinates regular flights.
Demonstrations ensue
While Avelo launched its coordination with ICE on Monday, more than 100 people gathered outside Tweed New Haven Airport in protest over the airline’s work with ICE. No deportation flights operated by Avelo landed or departed at Tweed, but it’s one of the airports where Avelo does operate commercial flights.
One traveler, Chuck Maurer, told local Connecticut news station WTNH that he’s not on one side of the fence or the other, while acknowledging it as a business decision by the airline, saying, “I’m not necessarily one side or the other, although I see Avelo on this one, that is great money, right?
Statement from Avelo’s CEO
Avelo CEO Andrew Levy would agree, as he admitted in early April, the opportunity to operate flights for ICE “was too valuable not to pursue,” according to an email obtained by the Times and written on April 3. Levy also notes that the ICE flights provide reliable revenue that the financially struggling company needs while it aims to establish itself among big-name low-cost carriers.
Another, now-defunct airline reportedly made millions of dollars by conducting deportation flights for ICE, and charter air carriers bring in tens of millions of dollars in revenue through a combination of ICE flights and other ventures. ICE contracts for airlines can provide stability amid economic uncertainty and may be more reliable than passenger flights that fluctuate in demand.
How are protesters responding?
That’s of little solace to opponents of deportation flights, with Democrats and immigrant rights groups seeing many of them as unconstitutional and “immoral.”
Rabbi Herb Brockman of New Haven told WTNH, “They have a moral responsibility to say no, for not participating in something that is immoral.”
“It’s also about our faith, and what we are rooted in, as people of faith,” Bishop John Selders told the news outlet. “In fairness and justice and love and regard and care.”
Sharon Astor of New Haven said, “I’m angry and sad about what our government is doing, definitely.”
How is the airline responding to the protests?
Avelo responded to the protests at Tweed in a statement.
The airline wrote, “While we recognize the right of individuals to peacefully assemble, Avelo’s main priority will continue to be maintaining the safety and timeliness of our operation.”
Avelo also argues it operated similar flights for the Biden administration. In a statement to the Times, it said, “When our country calls, our practice is to say ‘yes.’”
How is the Trump administration responding?
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told the Times in a statement on Tuesday, May 13, that the administration is deporting criminals. She accused protesters of attempting “nothing more than a tired tactic to abolish ICE by proxy.”
The department’s assistant secretary of public affairs, Tricia McLaughlin, said, “Attacks and demonization of ICE and our partners is wrong.”
Petition efforts
Avelo’s inaugural ICE flight comes as a petition circulates to pressure the company to drop its contract with ICE and as a union representing flight attendants, including Avelo’s, raised concerns about the safety of deportation flights, as some migrants are in shackles, with little that can be done in case of medical emergency, according to union officials.
