Avelo Airlines, an airline with a hub at Tweed New Haven Airport, confirmed Monday it plans to work with the federal government to run deportation flights out of Mesa, Arizona.
The agency says it will run a long-term charter program for the Department of Homeland Security with “domestic and international trips to support DHS's deportation efforts,” according to an April 2025 job posting.
The deportation flights will be carried out by three 737-800 airplanes based at Mesa Gateway Airport starting on May 12, the company said Monday in a statement.
“We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic,” Avelo Airlines Founder and CEO Andrew Levy said. “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.”
The move drew immediate condemnation from the New Haven Immigrant Coalition, which is calling for a boycott of the airline on social media and through an online petition.
New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, a Democrat, told the New Haven Independent the airline's decision was “deeply disappointing and disturbing.”
“For a company that champions themselves as ‘New Haven’s hometown airline,’ this business decision is antithetical to New Haven’s values,” Elicker said.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong blasted Avelo and said on Tuesday that the state will review its support of the airline.
"These flights are cruel by design and enormously wasteful of taxpayer resources and no business should be complicit," Tong said in a statement.
The Houston-headquartered Avelo has expanded at Tweed in New Haven in recent years and also added service from Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks. Monday’s statement on the company’s upcoming work with ICE did not mention either Connecticut facility.
Avelo says it will open a base in Mesa for Avelo pilots, flight attendants and aircraft technicians, as well as appropriate local leaders.
Connecticut Public's Matt Dwyer contributed to this report.
