Avelo will stop operating deportation flights for the federal government, ending a partnership that put the Houston-based carrier in an increasingly uncomfortable spotlight.
“Avelo will close the base at [Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona] on January 27 and will conclude all participation in the Biden and Trump DHS charter program,” an airline spokesperson said in a statement to AirlineGeeks. “The program provided short-term benefits but ultimately did not deliver enough consistent and predictable revenue to overcome its operational complexity and costs.”
The carrier noted that it did not see a drop in customers as a result of the contract. In 2025, Avelo served 2.6 million customers on scheduled commercial service, up 11% from 2024 with minimal seat growth.
“With our unique combination of everyday low fares, easy and convenient to use base airports, delivered with leading reliability, it is no surprise that customers continue to embrace us,” the airline’s statement read.
Avelo’s work for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which includes Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was sharply criticized by some elected officials in states where the carrier operates. Civil rights and immigration groups have picketed outside airports served by the airline, arguing that the company profits from human suffering and that deportees have had their rights violated.
In Delaware, state lawmakers had been considering a bill that would urge the operator of Wilmington Airport to reconsider marketing incentives for Avelo.
The decision to end deportation flights comes as Avelo prepares to restructure its commercial network. In addition to Mesa, the carrier is shutting down crew bases in Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington in North Carolina and ending some flights to and from those destinations. Avelo said it will focus its network around four smaller airports – New Haven, Connecticut; Wilmington, Delaware; Charlotte/Concord, North Carolina; and Lakeland, Florida.
