Budget airline Avelo to fly deportation flights for ICE
WASHINGTON
Budget carrier Avelo Airlines signed an agreement to fly federal deportation flights from Arizona starting in May, according to the company, whose founder acknowledged the decision may be controversial.
Andrew Levy, also CEO of the Houston-based airline, 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.
The domestic and international flights will be supported by three Boeing 737-800 planes and based at Mesa Gateway Airport, Avelo said in a statement.
In an online job listing for the Arizona operation, Avelo states that 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 that have provided such flights for ICE in the past five years 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.
