Houston-based Avelo joins ‘ICE Air’: Sen Blumenthal to Avelo CEO, ‘You really stepped in it’
- North Shore Democrats of Travis County
- Apr 29
- 2 min read
Houston-based low-cost Avelo Airlines signed a long-term agreement with DHS to fly human beings snatched by ICE and deported. But “ICE Air” is facing headwinds from patriots opposing Trump’s snatch-and-grab deportations.
Avelo said its flights for DHS will begin May 12 from the Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona using three 737-800s. To facilitate the arrangement, Avelo also will be opening a base at the Phoenix-area airport and hiring staff such as pilots, flight attendants and aircraft technicians.
Avelo CEO Andrew Levy in an email to employees called the deportation contract “too valuable not to pursue” at a time when his startup was losing money.
Avelo has a major hub in New Haven, Conn, and it recently expanded to Bradley International Airport near Hartford.
Last Thursday, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal was among the nearly 300 attendees at a rally outside the New Haven airport. “Avelo has to change its course,” he said. “To the president of Avelo: You really stepped in it.”
Connecticut’s attorney general has sent his second warning in a month to, telling the startup it has jeopardized tax breaks and other local support by agreeing to conduct deportation flights for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. In 2023, the airline won a two-year fuel-tax moratorium from state lawmakers after extensive lobbying.
Democrats in the Connecticut legislature, meanwhile, are working to expand the state’s sanctuary law to penalize companies like Avelo for working with federal immigration authorities.
Avelo’s agreement calls for it to dedicate three of its 20 planes to carrying out deportation flights as part of the charter network known as “ICE Air.” It also follows a report by ProPublica, which Connecticut Attorney General William Tong cited in an April 8 letter to Avelo, revealing flight attendants’ unease over the treatment and safety of detainees on such flights. The concerns airline staffers raised included how difficult it could be to evacuate people wearing wrist and ankle shackles.
“Can Avelo confirm that it will never operate flights while non-violent passengers are in shackles, handcuffs, waist chains and/or leg irons?” Tong’s April 8 letter asks. “Can Avelo confirm that it will never operate a flight without a safe and timely evacuation strategy for all passengers?”
Comments