Budget carrier Avelo Airlines has an expansion plan — deport migrants for ICE
CBSN
Avelo Airlines is targeting a new passenger segment: migrants being sent to detention centers across the U.S. The budget carrier will also use its planes to fly migrants out of the country under the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies.
Avelo has signed a contract with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to handle deportation flights for U.S. Immigration Control and Enforcement (ICE), the company told CBS MoneyWatch. Avelo, which launched in 2021, said the move is necessary for the Houston-based airline to remain financially stable.
"We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic," Avelo founder and CEO Andrew Levy said in a statement to CBS News earlier this month after the company struck a deal with ICE. "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."
