Gov. Meyer backs protests of Avelo’s deportation flights

Gov. Matt Meyer has joined those boycotting Avelo Airlines over its contracting of deportation flights with the Trump administration, placing new pressure on Delaware’s only commercial airline.

The startup, Houston-based airline began flying from Wilmington Airport in early 2023 and has largely enjoyed positive reviews by residents and support from leaders.

That has changed a bit in recent weeks after Avelo confirmed that it has contracted with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to fly deportees out of the country, a role also known as ICE Air. That role has been subject to heightened scrutiny due to the Trump administration’s decision to deport some individuals to third-party countries and its unwillingness to correct mistaken deportations.

In Connecticut, where Avelo has a large hub of operations, Democratic leaders including Gov. Ned Lamont, Attorney General William Tong and New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker began calling for Avelo to rethink its contract. They were joined by residents who protested outside Tweed New Haven Airport and an online petition calling for a boycott that gained more than 36,000 signatures as of Wednesday.

Since then, residents have sparked protests in other cities where Avelo has a presence, including in Delaware where about 400 people protested outside Wilmington Airport earlier this month.

In an interview with Spotlight Delaware on Tuesday, Meyer supported those efforts.

“I believe in giving private companies latitude to do what they want to do and, as customers, we all have choices,” he said, noting that he hasn’t spoken directly with airline leadership. “To be completely honest though, my wife Lauren and I were looking at going down to Puerto Rico with Avelo, but now I will not be buying tickets anytime soon.”

So far, the airline has rebuffed criticism of its decision, with Avelo founder and CEO Andrew Levy calling it “a sensitive and complicated topic.”

“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 crew members employed for years to come,” he has said in a statement to multiple media outlets.

The airline did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday evening on Meyer’s latest comments.

According to an internal Avelo email sent to crew members, obtained by the New Haven Register newspaper, the economic opportunity around the deportation flights was too great for the startup airline.

“After extensive deliberations … we concluded this new opportunity was too valuable not to pursue, as it will help us stabilize our finances and allow us to continue our journey,” Levy wrote to employees. “Having a portion of our company dedicated to charter flying, without exposure to fluctuating fuel prices or risk from macroeconomic factors, provides us with the stability to grow our core business, which is scheduled passenger travel.”

The veteran airline executive noted that while Avelo finally reached a virtual break-even budget year in 2024 after years of operating losses, the increased competition from rivals like JetBlue, Breeze, Frontier, Spirit, and others have taken a toll.

“Unfortunately, in the first quarter of 2025, we will post our worst quarterly results since 2023, breaking a string of year-over-year improvements,” he wrote.

The 4-year-old airline has also benefited from public support, including millions poured into Wilmington Airport upgrades by the Delaware River & Bay Authority, a bi-state agency supported by Delaware and New Jersey that manages the airport. Delaware economic development officials also signed off on a three-year jet fuel tax waiver that costs taxpayers about $43,000 a year. That waiver is set to expire later this year.

Avelo is still hiring flight attendants for its deportation flights, which will fly from Mesa, Ariz., according to listings on an online recruitment site.