Budget Airline Avelo to Operate Deportation Charter Flights for ICE

April 12, 2025 TruthUSA

SANTA ROSA, Calif.—Avelo Airlines, a budget carrier, is set to establish a new base in Arizona, where it will provide deportation flight services for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), while simultaneously scaling back its commercial operations at Charles M. Schulz–Sonoma County Airport in Northern California.

The airline has finalized an agreement with ICE, operating under the Department of Homeland Security, to facilitate a “long-term charter program” aimed at supporting deportation activities, as stated in an email from Avelo on April 10.

“We acknowledge that this is a delicate and complex issue,” remarked Avelo Airlines founder and CEO Andrew Levy in the statement.

“After thorough consideration, we concluded that this charter service would offer us the necessary stability to continue growing our essential scheduled passenger service and ensure the employment of our over 1,100 Crewmembers for years ahead.”

Avelo previously provided these charter flights during the Biden administration, according to the announcement.

“Regardless of the administration or political affiliation, as a U.S. flag carrier, our response to our country’s requests for assistance is always affirmative,” he added.

Avelo Airlines will commence operations, both domestic and international, starting May 12, utilizing three Boeing 737-800s at their new base located at Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona.

According to a company spokesperson, Courtney Goff, in correspondence with The Epoch Times, “These charter operations will not impact our commercial flights, as they are entirely distinct.”

Additionally, in May, the airline is set to eliminate four out of eight commercial routes operating from the Sonoma County Airport, shuttering its base there, which opened just last year, and transferring operations to Burbank Airport in Southern California, as reported by the North Bay Business Journal.

The discontinued routes include flights from Sonoma to Boise, Idaho; Salt Lake City, Utah; Ontario, California; and Kalispell, Montana.

These adjustments have occurred due to a lower-than-expected demand and unsatisfactory financial performance at the Sonoma airport, the company indicated in a separate release to the media.

A year ago, the Avelo base in Sonoma County debuted four new destinations, successfully doubling its nonstop routes from that airport, as detailed in the company’s press release. These routes connected to Boise, Kalispell, Portland, Oregon, and Pasco, Washington.

Avelo will retain service at Sonoma airport to and from Bend/Redmond, Oregon; Las Vegas, Nevada; Los Angeles/Burbank; and Palm Springs, California.

Avelo’s mission focuses on offering nonstop flights to “primarily underserved communities across the nation,” as stated by the company. At present, it services 56 destinations across the United States, Jamaica, Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and the Bahamas.

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