A number of civic organizations such as the Immigrant Allies Forum, Indivisible Wilmington, and the Wilmington Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America have demonstrated their stand just outside Wrightsville Beach. Their public appeal is to request tourists to ‘uphold their principles’ and take a stance. They specifically selected this location in a bid to reach a broad spectrum of vacationers, thereby increasing awareness about the controversial contract Avelo Airlines entered into with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) allowing deportation flights.
Indeed, one of the protest leaders revealed that Avelo had received county funds for promoting Wilmington as well as other destinations, with the intention to attract more tourists. The main aim of this demonstration went beyond mere awareness; they wanted to urge tourists to leverage their freedom of choice when flying, to reflect their values, and consider the potential human rights implications associated with their seemingly economical flight tickets.
Avelo Airlines, a budget airline providing services to 23 U.S. states, established a new operational base in Wilmington in April. A series of local protests have followed this development. The first Avelo-focused protest transpired directly in front of the airport in May, but this week was significant as it marked the strategic national campaign designed to impose commercial strain on the airline due to their questionable deal.
As this has taken a national form, protestors from every city where Avelo functions are expressing their disapproval. As admitted by one protestor, Avelo Airlines, being the only commercial airline with an ICE contract, is conducting deportation flights from Arizona to El Salvador. This has led these advocacy groups to call out for a boycott of the airline.
While these organizations recognize that public opinion on immigration is divisive and persuading people to shift their perspectives on the matter may be challenging, they hold hope. The purpose behind their assembly at such public places goes beyond protest; it is a plea for travelers to reevaluate their airline of choice.
One activist reports the protests to be successful, with Avelo having to cancel and reduce its services in areas outside Wilmington few weeks ago. Through these organized demonstrations, the community holds high expectations that such local actions might incite impactful changes within their city.
Avelo has defended its position to collaborate with ICE, pointing to its necessity for maintaining financial stability. However, these justifications did not calm the storm; on the contrary, it elicited a determined pushback from advocacy groups represented by a steering committee member, who filed a public records request with the local airport authority.
After some time, the Deputy Director of the Airport confirmed that the Airport Authority did not sanction any monetary support to Avelo, nor approve budget amendments for it. He shared a standard lease agreement that all airlines operating at the airport follow and referred to an incentive program available to all airlines.
However, after a series of communications, he admitted that local efforts have been made to promote Avelo flights and the airport since Avelo’s launch. Despite the controversy, it’s undeniable that the airline has considerably influenced the local economy since its initiation.
But one protestor questioned if attributing such economic activity to Avelo was entirely justified, expressing skepticism about correlating the data of tourist expenditure ($1.1 billion in 2023) in New Hanover County and annual GDP of $20 billion of the county in the last fiscal year to Avelo’s influence.
He further added that while economic growth is a positive change, it should not overshadow the ethical questions that arise. Should we ignore Avelo’s involvement in what’s considered illegal and cruel deportation practices simply because we see economic benefits?
What is the moral cost of overlooking these issues, the protestor questioned, are we ready to ignore these deportation flights in the light of profiting from Avelo’s other operations? Is the collective moral compass easily swayed by promises of fiscal gains?
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