Wrightsville Beach recently witnessed a congregation of local activist groups, comprised of the Immigrant Allies Forum, Indivisible Wilmington, and the Wilmington Chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America. In a visually striking demonstration, they formed a human banner along the roadway, their objective being to appeal to holiday-goers to ‘travel with conscience.’ A spokesperson among the organisers revealed the strategic choice of location, ensuring maximum exposure to a significant number of travellers regarding Avelo’s recent strategic transaction with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in executing deportation flights.
The spokesperson stressed upon the fact that county funds were allocated to Avelo to boost the tourism in Wilmington and other similar destinations. The aim of this exercise, as mentioned, is to bring into limelight the underlying costs associated with a budget airline ticket, which may potentially be a compromise on human rights. Avelo Airlines, a low-cost carrier, provides air services across 23 states, having recently set up an operating base in Wilmington in April 2021. Unsurprisingly, this development has resulted in ripples of protests around the city since then.
The inaugural protest targeting Avelo took place in May, right outside the airport. However, the significant turning point was this week’s initiation of a nationally orchestrated campaign. The goal – to induce commercial pressure on Avelo, which is the consequent result of their association with ICE. The protestor quoted, ‘Presently, this is not just a local movement. This protest is being mirrored across numerous cities in the country where Avelo operates.’
According to one protestor’s clarification, Avelo Airlines, a commercial carrier, is the sole airline in its category to hold a contract with ICE to carry out deportation flights. These flights are primarily routed from Arizona to El Salvador. The key message they want to relay to the public is to refrain from patronising Avelo, essentially a call for boycotting the airlines.
While there may be divergent views concerning the immigration issue and influencing people to alter their perspective on the subject seems challenging, these protest groups, both locally and nationwide, are encouraging travellers to reconsider their preferred airline. As per one protester, their demonstration seemed to yield results. Just a few weeks back, Avelo had halted some of its flight services and downsized its operations, not in Wilmington but in other locations across the US.
The local advocacy groups hope that their collective efforts will usher in significant changes locally. Avelo, however, has justified its association with ICE, attributing it to their financial stability needs. As per one of the spokespeople for the advocacy groups who is a part of the steering committee, they dispatched a request for public records to the New Hanover County Airport Authority.
After a course of several months, a response was received from the Deputy Airport Director, clarifying that Avelo has not been a recipient of any funds from the Airport Authority, nor were any budget amendments approved in their favour. The response further enclosed a copy of Avelo’s lease agreement, claimed to be a standard across all airlines operating at ILM, and an attachment showing the airport authority’s incentive program available to all airlines.
However, further emails confirmed that local marketing dollars have indeed been utilized for the promotion of Avelo flights and ILM Airport, since the onset of Avelo operations. It is noteworthy that Avelo’s operations have notably boosted the local economy since its commencement. A member of the protesting group argued the merits of Avelo’s impact with data revealing tourist expenditure in New Hanover County amounting to $1.1 billion in 2023.
As some perspective, the total annual GDP for the county in the last reported fiscal year was shy of $20 billion. He emphasised that it seemed unlikely that Avelo can claim credits for such a significant contribution towards the economic activities. What remains crucial for the protestors, however, is less about the economic impact and more about the ethical hazards.
The protestor further raised a pointed question regarding the community’s willingness to ignore Avelo’s involvement in what they perceive as unlawful and inhumane deportation flights solely because of the economic gains brought in by their other operations. Addressing the ethical dilemma, he probed, ‘Have we started assigning a price tag to our morality, for being ready to overlook these alleged inhumane deportation flights?’
The post Activist Groups Stage Protest Against Avelo Airlines Over Deportation Flights appeared first on Real News Now.
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