Budget Airline Drops Deportation Flights After Discovering Politics Isn’t Free
KEY POINTS
- •Avelo Airlines will stop its ICE deportation flights and close its Mesa Gateway Airport base on January 27, 2026.
- •CEO Andrew Levy admitted the government contract promised financial stability but entangled the airline in political controversy.
- •Advocacy groups protested Avelo across several cities, and flight attendants' union welcomed the end of the deportation flights.
Houston-based Avelo Airlines, the unexpectedly political budget buzzword of 2025, is flying away from deportation duties less than a year after landing the ICE contract. Starting January 27, it’s closing its Mesa Gateway Airport base in Arizona — the only literal deportation hub for full-aircraft ICE flights. Spokesperson Courtney Goff admitted the ICE gigs had 'operational complexity' and questionable profits, while CEO Andrew Levy called the venture a financial stability promise that crash-landed into political drama. From viral Gen-Z mobs spamming job apps to Seth Miller's anti-Avelo billboards in New Haven shouting 'AvelNO!', the airline became a flying target. Flight attendants union sighed relief, hoping stability isn’t a myth. Meanwhile, ICE’s cloak-and-dagger deportation mask continues, with over 80% of charter and commercial deportation flights handled by Avelo, GlobalX, and Eastern Air Express—because nothing says 'budget carrier' like clandestine tail numbers.
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Avelo Airlines tried mixing budget flyers with deportation flights, forgot politics doesn’t pay per mile, canceled Mesa, and got ghosted by stability. Next up: offering in-flight therapy for bad career decisions.
Nothing says 'budget airline' like folding under political pressure after less than a year of deporting humans on schedule.
Avelo’s CEO learned the hard way that 'government funding' isn’t a blank check—more like a political liability surcharge.
Source: Axios | Published: 1/8/2026 | Author: Jason Lalljee
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