1 week Ago
MESA, Ariz. — An airline company announced that three planes located in Mesa will be used for deportation flights starting in May. Avelo Airlines, headquartered in Houston, said the company signed an agreement for a long-term charter program flying for the U.
S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. VERSIÓN EN ESPAÑOL: Aerolínea establecida en Arizona firma contrato con ICE para vuelos de deportaciones >> Download the 12News app for the latest local breaking news straight to your phone.
Three 737-800s based at Mesa Gateway Airport, AZA, will be used to "support the Department's deportation efforts" starting May 12, flying domestic and international flights. “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.
” Avelo has already posted job descriptions for the base at AZA. Current Avelo crew members will have the first option to transfer to the new base, Avelo told 12News. The job posting says the company is seeking "energetic, highly motivated" flight attendants and does list that the charter program will support deportation efforts.
The pay starts at $28 per hour. Immigration advocate Tom Cartwright keeps a watchful eye over the movement of ICE Air Operations: where their flights go and the money spent on these deportations. He said deportations by air are a multi-million dollar industry, and these flights are typically handled by charter airlines, not commercial airlines like Southwest or American airlines.
“I think it's just not their business," Cartwright said. "They're in the business of retail consumers. They're not in the business of charters.
" That's where companies like Avelo and Global X, which also operates out of Mesa-Gateway Airport, come in. Companies like Avelo can do both charter flights and deportation flights using the same aircraft, according to Cartwright. “One day, that plane will do a deportation flight," Cartwright said.
"The next day, it might do a flight to the Masters tournament with fans." He said the majority of deportations are to South American countries like Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. But the deal with Avelo will also include the transport of people in ICE custody domestically, typically from the two dozen detention centers across the U.
S. Cartwright said there is not a mix of commercial passengers and people ordered for deportation on ICE flights. "ICE has very strict rules.
They can't even move government employees on one of these flights," Cartwright said. "It can only be for the purpose of moving migrants." Watch 12News+ for free You can now watch 12News content anytime, anywhere thanks to the 12News+ app! The free 12News+ app from 12News lets users stream live events — including daily newscasts like "Today in AZ" and "12 News" and our daily lifestyle program, "Arizona Midday"—on Roku and Amazon Fire TV .
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