Latest news with #AveloAirlines
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Nationwide protests target Houston-based Avelo Airlines for ICE deportation flights
The Brief Houston-based Avelo Airlines signed an agreement in April to fly federal deportation flights for ICE. A National Day of Action was held on Friday and Saturday against the airline. Protesters in Houston gathered outside the company headquarters. HOUSTON - Immigrant advocates across the country held a National Day of Action to target a Houston-based airline that agreed to fly deportation flights. What we know Stop Avelo protests were held on Friday and Saturday in cities in New York, Florida, Oregon, California, and more. A protest was also held in Houston on Saturday outside the Avelo Airlines headquarters on Greenway Plaza. The protests were held in response to the airline handling deportation flights for immigrants. According to the Associated Press, Avelo signed an agreement in April to fly immigrants out of the country for the U.S. Immigration Control and Enforcement agency, also known as ICE. The flights have reportedly been flying out of 26 cities since May 12. What they're saying One protester told FOX 26 that her main focus was for immigrants to have a chance for their cases to be heard in court. "I think people should be given due process in courts," said Kathryn Rabinow. "I don't think that people who are here illegally should be here without due process. They shouldn't be here." The other side Representatives with Avelo Airlines declined an interview with FOX 26. The following statement was released: The safety and well-being of our Crewmembers (employees), Customers and all individuals involved is our highest priority. While we recognize the right of individuals to peacefully assemble, Avelo's main priority will continue to be maintaining the safety and timeliness of our operation. The Source Information in this report comes from the Associated Press, Stop Avelo protestors, and Avelo Airlines.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Protesters rallying against budget airline's ICE deportation flights picket outside SRQ
Local protesters against national immigration policy turned their attention to a budget airline carrying out deportation flights Saturday. Approximately 30 people gathered at the Sarasota Bradenton International Airport to protest Avelo Airlines' contract with Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to carry out deportation flights. The demonstration was part of a nationwide effort opposing Avelo, which saw groups in around 30 cities where Avelo operates picket near their airports to protest the contract. The demonstration was organized by a number of local and state activist groups like the Democratic Women's Club of Sarasota County, Indivisible Manatee and the Florida Valkyries, a statewide social justice organization. Collin Piper, a member of the Valkyries, said protesters were responding to both the Avelo contract and President Donald Trump's aggressive immigration policy, which has spurred an uptick in ICE activity. 'Avelo is the issue. They are complicit,' Piper said. 'But the bigger issue is they're trying to remove the right of due process from the constitution.' Avelo signed a deal with the Department of Homeland Security worth around $150 million in April. Three Boeing 737-800 aircrafts began flying from Arizona's Mesa Gateway Airport May 12. It's unclear how many have flown since then, and it's also unknown whether any of these deportation flights have flown from SRQ. The airport did not respond to requests for comment in time for publication. Avelo flies two nonstop routes — one to New Haven, Connecticut, and one to Wilmington, Delaware — from SRQ. The airline is billed as a low-budget carrier with nonstop routes to major and mid-major cities − the kind of flights that have spurred significant growth at SRQ in recent years. Avelo has framed its contract with ICE as a financial necessity, as it brought investment bank Jeffries Group LLC to help it raise around $100 million to ease recent financial struggles. Avelo founder and CEO Andrew Levy said the contract was 'too valuable not to pursue,' Connecticut's Middletown Press reported. 'We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic. After significant deliberations, we determined this charter flying will provide us with the stability to continue expanding our core scheduled passenger service and keep our more than 1,100 Crewmembers employed for years to come," Levy said in a statement. The Stop Avelo Coalition − a collection of activists, legislators and social justice groups piling the pressure on the airline − has called on a nationwide boycott of the airline. Saturday's string of demonstrations were the latest in a list of efforts the coalition has made to raise awareness of the contract. Protesters at SRQ lined University Parkway across from the airport, wielding signs and chanting as cars whizzed past. 'Hey hey, ho ho, Avelo Airlines got to go,' and, 'Say it loud, say it clear, immigrants are welcome here,' rang out through bullhorns as the protest lingered for around two hours. Valkyries founder Bryson Holtzer said the protest was a call to ICE for more transparency amid nationwide raids, like one that occurred at a Tallahassee construction site May 29. It was one of Florida's largest since Trump announced aggressive immigration policy at the beginning of his term this year, with ICE detaining more than 100 people. 'We definitely want to reinstate due process,' Holtzer said. 'We'd like ICE to be more transparent with what they're doing, how they're collecting people, where they're sending them.' Demonstrators are hopeful public pressure will persuade Avelo to back out of its contract and stop the flights. Though the long-term goal of these protests is immigration reform at the national level, attendees of Saturday's event said getting Avelo's attention is an important step in the immediacy. Chris Kilmer, a Sarasota resident, said he hopes the nationwide displays send the message that Avelo customers oppose the flights. 'What Avelo Airlines is doing, it's wrong,' Kilmer said. 'They're deporting people without due process. For some people, it's a death sentence.' Contact Herald-Tribune Reporter Heather Bushman at hbushman@ Follow her on Twitter @hmb_1013. This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Protesters rally against Avelo Airline's ICE contract outside SRQ
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Protests against Avelo Airlines' deportation flights continue at Wilmington Airport
Protests against Avelo Airlines' role in deportations persist nationwide, especially here in Delaware. Avelo is the only commercial airline that flies from Wilmington Airport near New Castle. It recently added flights to Jacksonville, Florida, and Raleigh, North Carolina, to 12 other cities. Since 2022, the airline has expanded its operations in Delaware as it gains popularity. Earlier this year, the airline announced that it agreed to a deal with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to help with deportation flights out of Arizona. This has rubbed a lot of Delawareans the wrong way, and many say they will not use the airline until it stops the service. Since the announcement, crowds have gathered outside of Wilmington Airport to protest the airline's move. On May 31, a few dozen protesters in Delaware were a part of a nationwide movement at other airports serving Avelo. It wasn't as large of a rally as the first protest in April, but the message has not changed. "It's very scary what's happening to our country, especially sending innocent people to who knows where at this point in time without due process," said Sheri Swanson, a 77-year-old from Pike Creek, at the protest. "It's not the American way." This protest comes right after the Department of Homeland Security listed Delaware as a whole, New Castle County, Newark and Camden as "sanctuary jurisdictions" that are "deliberately and shamefully obstructing the enforcement of federal immigration laws endangering American communities." The executive order threatens any kind of federal funding or grants for any places on the list. The list was made at the direction of an executive order from President Donald Trump. Protesters outside of the airport remain committed to boycotting Avelo and Trump's immigration policies. "(It's a) very Delaware-specific thing, or we could hopefully have an economic impact on them and make them feel like it's not such a great deal for them," said Debbie Silverman, a 63-year-old from Wilmington, at the airport. "But now I'm absolutely not planning on flying them." Shane Brennan covers Wilmington and other Delaware issues. Reach out with ideas, tips or feedback at slbrennan@ This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware protest joins others nationwide against Avelo's ICE flights
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Avelo Airlines protest held in Rochester
ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) – 50501 Rochester NY and Jefferies Investment Bank held a protest Saturday at the Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport in effort to push Avelo Airlines to end its collaboration with ICE. These protests took place across in dozens of cities across the United States. Organizers with 50501 Rochester were asking for Monroe County Executives to 'condemn the commercial airline which flies in the face of our Sanctuary City Policy and that the Monroe Legislature end supporting Avelo Airlines with consolidated funds. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Al Jazeera
4 days ago
- Business
- Al Jazeera
Houston-based Avelo Airlines faces backlash for deportation flights
Avelo Airlines, a struggling, Houston, Texas-based budget carrier, has faced weeks of backlash after taking a contract with the United States government to use its planes to deport migrants, the first commercial airline to do so. Avelo, which started the deportation flights in mid-May, defended the move in an April 3 letter to employees, saying its partnership with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is 'too valuable not to pursue'. Founded in 2021, the airline has been in financial turmoil and was projected to have only about $2m in cash on hand by June, the trade publication Airline Observer reported last month. An Avelo spokesperson told Al Jazeera that that reporting is outdated. The airline has not disclosed the terms of the deal with ICE but is said to be using three of its Boeing 737 aircraft for the flights. Avelo has 20 aircraft in its fleet. At the beginning of 2024, Avelo reported its first profitable quarter since its founding but hasn't released any financial results since then. Because it is not a publicly traded company, Avelo is not legally obligated to regularly disclose its financial status to the public. Avelo's deal was brokered through a third-party contractor, CSI Aviation, which received $262.9m in federal contracts, mostly through ICE, for the 2025 fiscal year. While CSI Aviation did not confirm to Al Jazeera the specifics of its deal with Avelo, federal spending records show the company was awarded a new contract in March and received $97.5m in April when the Avelo flights were announced. April's contract marks the biggest for CSI Aviation since it began receiving federal contracts in 2008. Until now, CSI Aviation's highest payouts had come more frequently during Democratic administrations. In October under former President Joe Biden, the federal government paid out more than $75m to CSI Aviation. CEO Andrew Levy has said Avelo operated similar flights under the Biden administration but the public outcry against Avelo this time is because of how Republican President Donald Trump's administration has conducted deportations. 'In the past, the deportees were afforded due process,' aviation journalist and New Hampshire state lawmaker Seth Miller said. '[They were] not snatched off the street, moved multiple times to evade the judicial process and put on planes before they could appeal. In the past, they were returned to their country of origin, not a third country. In the past, they were not shipped to a labour camp from which no one is ever released.' 'These are, to me, not the same deportations as in the past, and any company signing on in April 2025 to operate those flights knows that,' Miller told Al Jazeera. The US government has awarded CSI Aviation $165m for deportation charter flights so far in the current year until August 31, and that could be extended to February 26. The data does not specify how much goes to each subcontractor. However, the March 1 $165m contract was modified on March 25 with an additional $33.7m tacked onto it just days before Avelo announced its deal. Al Jazeera was unable to confirm the specific dollar amount for the Avelo contract. CSI Aviation did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment. Avelo, led by Levy – an industry veteran who previously served as CEO of another US-based budget airline, Allegiant, and as chief financial officer for United Airlines – has stood by the deal despite the public outcry. 'We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic. After significant deliberations, we determined that charter flying will provide us with the stability to continue expanding our core scheduled passenger service and keep our more than 1,100 Crewmembers employed for years to come,' Levy said in a statement to Al Jazeera, comments the company had also provided to other publications. Connecticut Attorney General William Tong pressed the airline for the terms of the deal. Avelo responded by instructing Tong to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. FOIA requests typically take several months to process. Connecticut is home to one of Avelo's biggest hubs in New Haven. Avelo declined Al Jazeera's request for information on the terms of its agreement with CSI Aviation, saying in an email that it was not 'authorised to share the details of the contract'. Al Jazeera has submitted a FOIA request for the contract terms. ICE denied our expedited request for the contract terms, saying our request lacked 'an urgency to inform the public about an actual or alleged federal government activity, if made by a person primarily engaged in disseminating information'. The phone number ICE gave to challenge the request through its public liaison did not work when called. 'For reasons of operational security, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not release information about future removal flights or schedules in advance. However, the removal of illegal aliens who are unlawfully present in the United States is a core responsibility of ICE and is regularly carried out by ICE Air Operations,' a spokesperson for ICE told Al Jazeera. Several lawmakers, including Senator Alex Padilla of California and Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, have voiced concerns over these flights. 'Given the Trump Administration's mission to indiscriminately deport our nation's immigrants – without due process, in violation of the Constitution and federal immigration law, and, in some cases, in defiance of court orders – it is deeply disturbing that Avelo has determined that its partnership with ICE is 'too valuable not to pursue,'' Padilla's office said in a news release. Flight attendants have also raised safety concerns, saying there is no safe plan in the event of an emergency and it is only a matter of time before a tragic incident occurs. As first reported by ProPublica, ICE Air detainees have soiled themselves because they did not have access to bathrooms while being transported to prisons without due process. ICE has denied allegations that detainees lacked access to bathrooms during flights. Avelo's largest investor is Morgan Stanley Tactical Value, whose managing director, Tom Cahill, sits on Avelo's board. Morgan Stanley's fund invested an undisclosed amount in the airline's Series A funding round, the first major investment stage for a company. That round raised $125m in January 2020, weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared a US and global emergency. A subsequent Series B round in 2022 brought in an additional $42m, $30m of which came from Morgan Stanley. Morgan Stanley Tactical Value remains Avelo's largest shareholder. Cahill, who has been with Morgan Stanley since 1990, has not publicly commented on the deal. He did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment. Morgan Stanley declined to comment. Avelo has also hired Jefferies Financial Group, an investment bank and financial services company, to raise additional capital in a new investment round, reportedly aiming to raise $100m, according to the Airline Observer, information that Avelo said is outdated. Jefferies did not respond to Al Jazeera's request for comment. Avelo's involvement in the deportation programme has sparked intense public backlash. Upon the launch of the flights, protests erupted at airports in Burbank, California; Mesa, Arizona; and New Haven, Connecticut. A petition calling for a boycott of the airline has garnered more than 38,000 signatures. Avelo did not comment on the petition. 'From a reputational perspective, someone in a boardroom somewhere made the decision that the hit to reputation wasn't as important as staying alive,' said Hannah Mooney Mack, an independent strategic communications consultant. Miller has taken action to raise awareness about the airline's recent contract, funding two billboards near Tweed New Haven Airport that criticise Avelo's participation in deportation flights. The signs read: 'Does your vacation support their deportation? Just say AvelNO!' 'I love almost all of the things that aviation does in helping bring people together and connect communities and things like that. This is decidedly not that. And it rubbed me the wrong way,' the congressman told Al Jazeera. 'I certainly understand that from a financial perspective there may be a need. I happen to disagree with it from a moral perspective and think it's abhorrent.' Miller said he spent $7,000 on the billboards and 96 people contributed to the effort. Avelo reportedly convinced billboard operator Lamar Advertising to take down the ads, citing copyright concerns. Miller has since sued Avelo on First Amendment grounds. He said he's fighting because he thinks people need to know about Avelo's contract. 'I don't like that this is happening, and I think other people should not fly Avelo as long as they are running these deportation flights.'
