Avelo Airlines faces backlash after framing ICE deal as financial necessity

Avelo Airlines is under fire after signing a new contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, to operate deportation flights, sparking protests and political pushback.

CEO Andrew Levy defended the decision in an internal email on April 3 to employees, writing that while the flights “have been regularly occurring for over forty years,” they are “currently receiving an increased amount of media attention.”

“After extensive deliberations… we concluded this new opportunity was too valuable not to pursue, as it will help us stabilize our finances and allow us to continue our journey,” Levy said, according to The Middletown Press.

But state officials in Connecticut, including Gov. Ned Lamont and Attorney General William Tong, for example, have condemned the flights. Lawmakers in that state, where Avelo has a base, have even proposed stripping subsidies from companies that aid in deportations.

It also led to public protests, including one outside Tweed-New Haven Airport. The group called for a boycott of the budget airline, NBC Connecticut reported. There’ve also been thousands of signatures added to Change.org petition supporting the boycott.

In response to the protests, Avelo issued a statement on Thursday acknowledging the “weight of these concerns” and stressed that the practice wasn’t politically motivated or new, noting that the airline flew the same kind of flights during the Biden administration.

However, several news outlets, including Fortune, reported that these types of arrangements with commercial airlines are unusual.

“Regardless of the administration or party affiliation, as a U.S. flag carrier when our country calls and requests assistance our practice is to say ‘yes,’” spokesperson Courtney Goff said. “We follow all protocols from DHS and FAA, honoring our core value of Safety Always.”

Why it matters:

Levy’s internal justification – “this new opportunity was too valuable not to pursue” – frames the contract as financially driven, which may appear as though the airline prioritized its bottom line above “personal views on current political events.”

Avelo is caught between a conservative federal administration and a more liberal state government both demanding competing priorities. It’s in a no-win situation.

While emphasizing profits is often a positive way to weather controversies, as we’ve seen with DEI backlash, in this case, it seems to have only stoked the flames, positioning Avelo as prioritizing finances over what some see as a morally dubious choice. On the other hand, some see deporting these people as a patriotic duty. No matter what the company says or does, it will lose in the eyes of some stakeholders.

Avelo attempted to depoliticize the decision by emphasizing compliance with federal agencies and past precedent: “We also flew these charters under the Biden administration.”

Framing the move as routine and apolitical helps – but it won’t entirely alleviate the controversy as immigration policy has materially changed under the current administration. But it was a fair attempt for the airline to avoid appearing aligned with a specific agenda.

Ultimately, no statement or policy will quell the controversy here. But Avelo is attempting to position it as a neutral, business-first decision. We’ll see as that holds as protests inevitably continue.

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Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.