The first flight of an Avero Airlines Boeing 737-800 takes off from Hollywood Burbank Airport in the Los Angeles area on April 28, 2021.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
Avero Airways will stop operating deportation flights for the U.S. government, cut commercial routes and reduce staff, the company’s CEO told staff.
The airline, which debuted in 2021 with a focus on connecting smaller cities, pulled out of many West Coast destinations last year and also turned to flying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deportees, sparking protests and backlash from some politicians.
“The transition of a portion of our fleet to a government program, which promised financial stability, has placed us at the center of political controversy,” CEO Andrew Levy said in an email to employees late Tuesday, seen by CNBC.
“Although this program delivered short-term benefits, it ultimately failed to deliver enough stable and predictable revenue to overcome operational complexity and costs,” Levy wrote.
Avero announced that it will close its base in Mesa, Arizona, as ICE flights end. ICE did not respond to requests for comment.
The airline also agreed to return six aircraft. boeing The airline announced it will introduce 737-700 aircraft and close bases at Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Wilmington International Airport in North Carolina, but will continue service to those cities.
Those closures will lead to layoffs, Levy said.
“There will be some transfer opportunities, but due to our small fleet and network, we will need to reduce the number of positions,” Levy wrote.
The company will instead focus on being based at Tweed New Haven Airport in Connecticut. Lakeland Linder International Airport in Florida, located between Tampa and Orlando. Wilmington Airport in Delaware. Concord Paget Regional Airport outside Charlotte, North Carolina. The company also plans to open a base at McKinney National Airport near Dallas.
The union representing Avero’s flight attendants praised the decision to eliminate ICE flights.
“The airline industry is always changing, but we are facing too much change, including operating certain flights that we did not originally sign up for,” the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, the union for flight attendants, said in a statement to its members. “With the end of ICE flights and new financing, we hope that the future of Avero flight attendants will be more secure.”
Avello said the short-term schedule changes “will impact the itineraries of many customers” and that affected travelers will be contacted via text and email.
Mr Levy told staff the airline had raised “substantial new capital” at the end of the year and the airline’s financial position was “the strongest it has ever been”.
