#
0 likes8 views
Categories Politics

Budget Airline Cancels Its Deportation Contract With ICE, Citing ‘Political Controversy’

January 8, 2026

Commercial airplane taking off against a blue sky with clouds, showcasing powerful engines and landing gear in action.

Commercial airplane taking off against a blue sky with clouds, showcasing powerful engines and landing gear in action.
Credit: Grok AI

The low-cost Avelo Airlines has cancelled its contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Less than a year after signing a deal to carry out deportation flights for ICE, the airline will close its base in Mesa, Arizona later this month.

“The program provided short-term benefits but ultimately did not deliver enough consistent and predictable revenue to overcome its operational complexity and costs,” a company spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, CEO Andrew Levy cited “political controversy” as their reason for canceling the contract.

“We moved a portion of our fleet into a government program which promised more financial stability but placed us in the center of a political controversy,” he wrote.

The move comes after a succesful campaign by left-wing activists to try and damage the company’s reputation and encourage people not to give them their business.

Seth Miller, a Democratic tate representative form New Hampshire, launched a campaign near Tweed New Haven Airport with the message: “Does your vacation support their deportation? Just say AvelNO!”

“This move will not end the deportations, but it is good to see a company dropping out of the business, and paying a price for its participation along the way,” he told Axios.

Many Democrats took to social media to celebrate their supposed achievement.

ICE typically uses both charted and commercial flights for its deportation program.

The large majority of deportation flights are operated by Avelo, GlobalX, and Eastern Air Express.

As ICE ramps up its operations across the country, many companies are bowing to left-wing pressure not to work with the federal agency.

Just this week, a Hilton property in Minneapolis canceled a reservation for ICE agents.

“After further investigation online, we have found information about immigration work connected to your name, and we will be canceling your reservation,” they wrote in an email to the agents.

Hilton Hotel has since reprimanded the independently-run hotel and ensured that such discrimination does not happen again.

The post Budget Airline Cancels Its Deportation Contract With ICE, Citing ‘Political Controversy’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.