Did human rights protests or lower revenues force Houston-based Avelo Airlines to halt ICE deportations under the Trump administration? The story changes depending on who tells it.
Avelo Airlines, citing insufficient and unpredictable revenue at an operational base, plans to restructure its broader networks. Houston-based Avelo Airlines will stop deportation flights for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), close its base in Mesa, Arizona, and cut jobs, according to news reports.
ICE Deportations
The airline began flying ICE deportation charters in May 2025 under a subcontract (via CSI Aviation). The airline operated primarily from its Mesa Gateway base in Arizona.
“Avelo will close the base at AZA on January 27 and will conclude all participation in the DHS charter program. The program provided short-term benefits but ultimately did not deliver enough consistent and predictable revenue to overcome its operational complexity and costs,” a spokesperson for the budget carrier told WFAA.
Adding to its woes, Avelo Airlines also faced public protests and backlash, including boycotts and political pressure from advocacy groups and lawmakers over its participation in deportation flights.
“Avelo Airlines made the decision to end its contracts with the Department of Homeland Security because people organized,” said Tabitha Sookdeo, executive director of Connecticut Students for a Dream and the Independent’s 2025 New Havener of the Year. “There is power in our dollar. People said that we will not accept seeing human beings flown out of our communities in chains.”
In New York, Sen. Patricia Fahy, the bill sponsor, pointed to the SAFE AIR Act as a way to block state resources from aiding removals that violate due process rights. She said, “The Trump administration’s attacks on due process, the Constitution, and the courts should trouble every American,” and argued the bill would ensure New York facilities and resources do not “facilitate removals that violate an individual’s right to due process under the U.S. Constitution.”
Fahy called due process “the bedrock of our democracy.” She said the bill sends a message to contractors: “If you want to do business with New York State, you must respect the rule of law, and the Constitutional rights afforded to every person on American soil.”
Daniel Butterworth, executive director of RISSE in Albany, supported the effort. He said the bill would “hold to account those corporate actors enabling illegal deportations.”
Additional ICE Operations Closed
Arizona is not the only operational base to close. Avelo Airlines officials agreed to end deportation flights at Raleigh-Durham (RDU) and Wilmington, North Carolina (ILM), though it will still serve those cities, and the company says it plans to open a base in McKinney in 2026. Avelo Airlines signed a five-year lease to operate out of the McKinney airport (TKI) in December.
“Concurrent with these network changes, Avelo will make near-term schedule changes that will impact many customer itineraries,” a press release stated. “These changes enable Avelo to focus on sustainably scaling five core bases in 2026 and to prepare the company for growth in the coming years, facilitated by the company’s recent order for up to 100 Embraer 195-E2 aircraft.”
Avelo Airlines CEO Andrew Levy says the changes will lead to layoffs, as CNBC reported.
“Some transfer opportunities will be available, but we will need to reduce the number of positions due to our smaller fleet and network,” Levy wrote, according to CNBC.
Avelo Airlines said in a press release that it plans to focus on four bases—New Haven, Conn. (HVN); Philadelphia/Delaware Valley (ILG); Charlotte/Concord, N.C. (USA); and Central Florida/Lakeland (LAL).
“The airline industry is constantly changing, but we’ve faced far too much change at our airline, including operating certain flights we didn’t originally sign up for. We’re hopeful that with the end of the ICE flying and new financing, the future is more stable for flight attendants at Avelo,” said the Association of Flight Attendants chapter representing Avelo Airlines in a statement.
Avelo Airlines Transportation Work
Although Avelo Airlines is the major commercial airline ceasing transportation work for the U.S. government, the government still carries out multiple deportation flights through other subcontracted carriers like GlobalIX Airlines and CSI Aviation. CSI often uses several airlines to operate flights, which means deportations continue to operate even if one airline decides to terminate services.
See Related story: SCOTUS Backs Trump’s Deportation Power Under Alien Enemies Act
Clarence Walker is a senior NewsBlaze reporter & the news editor for HoustonNewsToday.com.
