PHOENIX (AZFamily) — An airline known for operating ultra-low cost flights out of smaller U.S. airports has signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Immigration Control and Enforcement agency to carry out deportation flights at an East Valley airport.
Avelo Airlines said as part of the agreement, three Boeing 737-800s based at Mesa Gateway Airport are to be apart of DHS operations.
According to the company’s statement, domestic and international flights will “carry out DHS’ deportation efforts.”
Officials say the company will also open a base at Mesa Gateway Airport. They are expecting to begin hiring locally for pilots, flight attendants and aircraft technicians. The airline says currently Avelo employees “will have the first option to transfer to our new base.”
“Having a portion of our company dedicated to charter flying, without exposure to fluctuating fuel prices or risk from macroeconomic factors, provides us with the stability to grow our core business, which is scheduled passenger travel,” said airline founder and CEO Andrew Levy.
Flights are scheduled to begin on May 12.
Federal authorities often carry out the transfer and removal of migrants through commercial and charter flights to support immigration and deportation efforts.
According to Homeland Security officials, ICE’s air operations division also conducts special-high risk charter flights on an as-needed basis in order to conduct final orders of removal or include migrants who have failed to comply with such orders, or are deemed a security risk.
See a spelling or grammatical error in our story? Please click here to report it.
Do you have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send it to us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2025 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
