Avelo Airlines — which operates an expanding base at Concord Regional Airport offering passenger flights — began an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security earlier this month to assist with deportation efforts.
Avelo Airlines told WFAE that the charter program to assist in deporting migrants is based in Mesa, Arizona, and will not affect the company's operations at Concord Regional Airport.
Earlier in May, the airline began assisting DHS by flying both domestic and international detainee transport flights. The airline also began to hire pilots, flight attendants and technicians to support those flights out of its Arizona base.
Avelo operates a fleet of 20 planes. The airline told WFAE that three of the planes will be used for deportation flights, and those planes will not be the same ones used at Concord Regional Airport.
“We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic," Avelo Airlines Founder and CEO Andrew Levy said in a statement last month. "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.”
