A series of community outreach organizations, such as the Allies for Immigrants Forum, Indivisible Wilmington, along with the Wilmington division of the Democratic Socialists of America, took up positions along the roadway to Wrightsville Beach. They were encouraging the holiday-goers to ‘uphold their principles.’ One protest organizer revealed that the site was picked to maximize the exposure to travelers of the agreement made between Avelo and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for undertaking deportation flights earlier in the year.
The organizer expressed concern over the county funds being used by Avelo to promote their budget flights to Wilmington and other destinations, attracting unsuspecting holidaymakers. The goal of their campaign is to ensure travellers are aware that despite the allure of low-cost tickets, these come with a potentially significant toll on human rights.
Operating as a budget airline, Avelo Airlines provides services for 23 American states. In the month of April, the airline company initiated a new operation base in the city of Wilmington. With its advent, a series of objections began to arise within the city.
The first sign of public dissent against Avelo surfaced in May, with a protest directly outside the airport. This week, however, marked the beginning of a nationwide initiative intended to apply commercial strain on the company, following the controversial deal with ICE.
The collaborative protest was not limited to Wilmington. One of the protestors elucidated, ‘Now a national campaign, we are participating today in a nationwide strike. This is simultaneously happening in multiple cities where Avelo maintains operations.’
Elaborating on why Avelo was targeted, the protestor explained, ‘A commercial air service, Avelo Airlines, sets itself apart as the solitary airline commercially that has an agreement with ICE. They’re executing deportation flights from Arizona to El Salvador. Our message to people is simple: Boycott them.’
Given the diversity of opinions on the complex matter of immigration, convincing people to change their stance on the issue is a formidable challenge. Yet, both local and nationwide supporters hope that travellers, at the very least, reconsider their airline of choice.
It appears the ongoing demonstrations may be causing an impact. One participant shared, ‘There might be a ray of hope. A few weeks back, Avelo had to cancel a number of its flights and reduce operations on specific routes. Although it hasn’t happened in Wilmington yet, it’s already in effect in parts of the country.’ It is hoped that these local actions will generate significant changes.
Defending its collaboration with ICE, Avelo cites financial stability as the key reason. Meanwhile, a member of the steering committee for one advocacy group submitted a public records request to the New Hanover County Airport Authority.
A few months later, the Deputy Airport Director responded saying that the Airport Authority had not allocated any financial resources to Avelo. Nor had any budget adjustments for the airline been approved. The official also shared a standard lease agreement, identical to all airlines at ILM, and provided information on the authority’s incentive program available to all airlines.
Subsequent correspondences confirmed that some local marketing funds had been allocated towards promoting Avelo flights and the ILM Airport ever since Avelo began its operations. Avelo’s operations have had a notable effect on the local economy.
One protestor, however, questioned this, with a challenging take: ‘[It’s] hard to justify the claim, considering the total tourist expenditure in New Hanover county amounted to $1.1 billion in 2023. The yearly GDP for the same county was below $20 billion as per the last fiscal year’s records; hence, it’s hard to attribute that much economic activity to Avelo.’
The protestor further added a deeper ethical question, ‘Are we willing to ignore Avelo’s involvement in unauthorized, inhumane deportation flights simply because we reap benefits from their other activities? What are we suggesting about our own moral leaning if we allow these deportation flights to continue?’
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