Avelo Airlines, the only commercial carrier believed to have been operating full deportation flights on a regular basis for the Trump administration, is ending its relationship with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and will no longer charter those deportations.
The budget carrier signed an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security in April 2025 to operate ICE flights out of Arizona, drawing immediate protests and calls to boycott.
At the time, the airline acknowledged the decision may be controversial but said it was expected to support company expansion and job protection. However, after less than a year since inking the deal, Avelo has admitted that the program became too costly and complex to continue.
CEO Andrew Levy acknowledged the backlash in an email to employees late Tuesday. “We moved a portion of our fleet into a government program which promised more financial stability but placed us in the center of a political controversy,” Levy wrote in the email, obtained by CNBC. “The program provided short-term benefits but ultimately did not deliver enough consistent and predictable revenue to overcome its operational complexity and costs.”
To address the financial losses, Avelo said it will cut ties with ICE and shutter its base at Mesa Gateway Airport just outside Phoenix on Jan. 27. The airline will similarly close its bases at North Carolina’s Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington airports, while still flying to those cities.