NEW YORK, Jan 7 (Reuters) – Avelo Airlines, a Texas-based budget carrier, said on Wednesday that it will stop operating deportation flights for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security by late January and shut its Arizona base, citing high costs and complexity despite earlier expectations of steady revenue.
Avelo, which previously said the opportunity was “too valuable not to pursue,” faced backlash from both customers and employees over its decision to operate deportation flights under a contract with the Trump administration.
“The program provided short-term benefits but ultimately did not deliver enough consistent and predictable revenue to overcome its operational complexity and costs,” an airline spokesperson said in a statement.
The airline will on January 27 close its Mesa, Arizona, base, where it had stationed three aircraft for deportation flights under a charter-only operation, according to an internal company memo previously reported by Reuters.
Avelo signed a contract with DHS last April to transport migrants to detention centers inside and outside the U.S. The company said calls for boycotts had not had an impact on its business.
Avelo said it carried a record 2.6 million customers in 2025 on scheduled commercial service, an 11% increase year-over-year.
(Reporting by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Nia Williams)
