Why Should Delaware Care?
Avelo Airlines, a low-cost startup airline, is currently the only commercial air operator in Delaware. Its arrival was widely cheered by leaders and residents alike, but it has been beset by controversy of late after contracting with the Trump administration to provide deportation flights. Now, the airline says its officially cutting ties with federal government.
After nine months of flying deportees out of the United States for the Trump Administration, Avelo Airlines, the only commercial airline to serve Delaware, announced on Wednesday that it will end the controversial federal contract.
The Texas airline’s decision comes after immigrant advocates cited its work with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as the reason they have engaged in protests and a boycott effort in Delaware and across the country over the past year.
“The program provided short-term benefits but ultimately did not deliver enough consistent and predictable revenue to overcome its operational complexity and costs,” Avelo spokeswoman Courtney Goff said in a statement to Spotlight Delaware.
Goff did not provide further details, including the amount of revenue the low-cost airline earned from the federal government.
Goff’s statement comes in sharp contrast to comments made by the airline’s CEO Andrew Levy shortly after Avelo won the deportation contract last spring, according to the New York Times.
The publication reported in May that Levy said in an internal email that the ICE contract was “too valuable not to pursue.”
Prior to the airline confirming that it was ending its ICE flights, an Arizona news outlet, called AZ Family, broke the story on Tuesday. A part of closing the contract involves Avelo ceasing its operations at a base at the Mesa Gateway Airport near Phoenix, Ariz., where it flew immigrants out of the country — primarily to Mexico.
ICE officials did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Avelo flies out of Wilmington Airport as part of its regular commercial service, having first launched here in February 2023.
Before the ICE contract became publicly known last year, Avelo drew broad praise for its operations in the state, especially in light of Delaware’s troubled history with keeping commercial carriers.
Since then, advocacy groups, such as the Delaware Stop Avelo Coalition, and political leaders have spoken out against the airline. The outcry included protests staged outside of the Wilmington Airport with demonstrators urging officials to cut ties with the airline.
Gov. Matt Meyer even joined a boycott last spring, telling Spotlight Delaware that he and his family wouldn’t be buying Avelo tickets anytime soon.
In November, the Wilmington City Council also passed a resolution urging the mayor to not enter into any agreement with companies that collaborate with, or profits from, ICE operations.
Despite the backlash, Avelo officials asserted that the airline saw no decline in demand, reporting that it carried a record 2.6 million passengers on scheduled commercial flights in 2025, up 11% from the year prior.
“With our unique combination of everyday low fares, easy and convenient to use base airports, delivered with leading reliability, it is no surprise that customers continue to embrace us,” Goff wrote.
Other future ICE flights?
Activists in Delaware say they now are happy with Avelo’s decision to end its contract with ICE, but argue that their work is not over.
Gayle Gibson, a Newark resident and member of the Delaware Stop Avelo Coalition, called the airline’s decision is “a win,” but said she wants to ensure that ICE flights don’t quietly happening from Delaware in the future.
Last month, the name of another airline appeared on the agenda of a meeting of the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which runs the Wilmington Airport. The agenda line noted a resolution described as a “lease agreement with Daedalus Aviation Corporation.”
Daedalus Aviation currently has a $140 million contract with ICE to fly deportation flights for the Trump administration, as reported by the Washington Post.
During its meeting, Delaware River and Bay Authority commissioners ultimately tabled the agenda item, according to meeting minutes. But it is not immediately clear why.
A spokesman for the authority did not respond to a request for comment.
Gibson also said that she and other advocates are now pushing for the passage of Senate Bill 207, which would strip commercial airlines of Delaware’s aviation jet fuel tax exemption if they transport ICE detainees for deportation without meeting due process standards, including the presentation of judicial warrants.
On Wednesday, bill sponsor State Sen. Ray Seigfried announced that he would not pursue the bill following the news of Avelo’s move to drop its contract, but its unclear whether news of the Daedalus contract may impact that thinking.
“Senate Bill 207 was never about singling out a single company or opposing market-based incentives – instead, it was about Delaware taking a moral stand and affirming that we will not be complicit in these egregious practices. Senate Bill 207 was introduced to ensure that no company in our state will be complicit, either,” he said in a statement.
Since beginning operations in Delaware in 2023, Avelo earned about $100,000 a year through Delaware’s jet fuel tax exemption.
The Delaware River and Bay Authority also committed $500,000 annually to the airline for its marketing.