The low-cost carrier now says the start of those flights has been delayed until sometime late this year.
In a written statement, the airline cites “extensive damage to both airport facilities and resorts” in western Jamaica caused by Hurricane Melissa in late October. Melissa was the strongest hurricane to hit Jamaica in recorded history, with sustained winds of 185 mph.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this might have caused for our guests and look forward to welcoming them back onboard later in the year,” the airline said.
Breeze is the only airline with announced flights to Jamaica from RDU. Avelo Airlines had flown to Montego Bay from the Triangle twice a week last year but ended that service Jan. 3, saying it wasn’t able to sell enough seats on its Boeing 737 aircraft.
Breeze uses smaller Airbus A220-300 aircraft that seat 137 passengers.
Triangle travelers can fly nonstop from RDU to two other Caribbean islands. Three airlines — Delta, Frontier and JetBlue — offer nonstops to San Juan, Puerto Rico. And Breeze plans to begin nonstops to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, on March 4, joining Avelo and American on that route.
Richard Stradling covers transportation for The News & Observer. Planes, trains and automobiles, plus ferries, bicycles, scooters and just plain walking. He’s been a reporter or editor for 38 years, including the last 26 at The N&O. 919-829-4739, rstradling@newsobserver.com.
Protesters at Dulles Airport, outside of D.C., called on Avelo Airlines to cancel its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate deportation flights.
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Protesters at Dulles Airport call on airline to cancel ICE deportation flights
Protesters at Dulles Airport, called on Avelo Airlines to cancel its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate deportation flights, both domestically and internationally, including to Central American countries.
Around two dozen protesters handed flyers to passengers at the airport, located in Dulles, Virginia, outside of D.C.
“We are concerned that some of the people who are being sent on these deportation flights have had no due process, or are U.S. citizens, and who belong here in the United States,” said Mike Sorohan, who co-founded the group Indivisible of Franconia, with his wife Erica.
In the permitted demonstration, with protesters holding signs outside the doors of the terminal near the west security gate, Sorohan said he hoped to spread awareness of how Avelo is utilizing its contract, even though Avelo has a small presence at Dulles.
”It’s not a big airline,” Sorohan said. “They only have two commercial flights every Thursday, to Wilmington, North Carolina, and New Haven, Connecticut,” where the airline is based.
This is the group’s first protest at Dulles, although Avelo protests have been held in other cities, including in Baltimore, Maryland.
“There’s no ICE flights coming out of Dulles, but we want to make people who fly Avelo aware of what Avelo is doing, and discourage them from making flight plans in the future,” Sorohan said.
WTOP is seeking comment from the airline about the effort to dissuade Avelo passengers from future travel.
“My hope is they will find alternate flights to the cities they want to go to,” Sorohan said. “This is a huge airport — there are flights to New Haven and Wilmington.”
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The Moore administration is facing increasing pressure from activists and the head of the Legislative Latino Caucus to boot a discount airline from Thurgood Marshall Baltimore Washington International Airport because it has been flying immigrants targeted for deportation to a detention facility in Louisiana.
A sign protesting Avelo’s contracts with ICE to fly immigrants to detention centers in Louisiana.
A sign protesting Avelo’s contracts with ICE to fly immigrants to detention centers in Louisiana.
The Moore administration is facing increasing pressure from activists and the head of the Legislative Latino Caucus to boot a discount airline from Thurgood Marshall Baltimore Washington International Airport because it has been flying immigrants targeted for deportation to a detention facility in Louisiana.
The activists are calling out Avelo Airlines, which signed charter contracts earlier this year with the Department of Homeland Security to carry immigrants rounded up by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency from airports across the country to a detention center in Alexandria, Louisiana, where detainees arrive shackled and in handcuffs.
Avelo operated about 20% of the deportation flights in the U.S. in August, according to data compiled by the website Travel and Tour World.
Avelo’s contract with the federal government has sparked protests across the country — including in Maryland, where it has offered a limited number of commercial flights out of BWI since 2021 and currently runs four round-trip flights a week from the state-owned airport.
So far, even as Gov. Wes Moore (D) amps up criticism of President Donald Trump (R) and his agenda, the state has not sought to block Avelo from doing business at BWI.
Maryland’s deal with Avelo allows either party to walk away from the commercial flight arrangement with 30 days’ notice. But Moore administration officials assert they are powerless to stop ICE from running detainee flights out of BWI.
Del. Ashanti Martinez (D-Prince George’s), the chair of the Latino Caucus, wrote to Moore and state transportation officials in mid-September, urging them to end their contract with Avelo because the airline is abetting the Trump administration’s aggressive crackdown on undocumented immigrants — which often results in immigrants who have legal status being removed from the country.
“I really deeply feel like if we have any control of the business taking place at BWI, we shouldn’t be supporting businesses that don’t reflect the values of Marylanders,” Martinez said in an interview.
He said Moore has yet to respond. But over just a few weeks, the Maryland groups targeting Avelo have collected more than 8,000 petition signatures, urging Moore to cancel the state contract with the airline.
“The main thing is putting pressure on the governor,” said Ryan Harvey, a leader of the Baltimore Rapid Response Network, one of several progressive groups organizing protests over Avelo’s commercial flights at BWI.
But even if the Moore administration sought to remove Avelo from BWI’s lineup of commercial flights, it cannot prevent Avelo or other carriers from running immigrant detainee flights out of BWI or other state airports. That’s because those trips are arranged and overseen by the federal government, and the state is obligated to allow those flights to use airport runways and control towers. The state government has jurisdiction over the BWI terminal and associated businesses, but not airport runways or other flight operations.
‘Aiding Trump’s deportation campaign’
Avelo launched in 2021, just as the U.S. was beginning to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, offering low-cost flights in the U.S. and to nearby Caribbean islands. The carrier began providing commercial service to and from BWI in spring 2022.
“We are thrilled to welcome Avelo Airlines to our market,” Ricky Smith, who was then the executive director of the Maryland Aviation Administration, said at the time. “Avelo will offer low fares and convenient access, and will boost tourism to Maryland and the entire National Capital region. We remain committed to growing our air service portfolio and adding new travel options for our customers.”
Avelo’s financial journey since its launch has been tenuous, according to a recent account by Forbes, which may explain why the airline signed federal contracts worth an estimated $150 million to transport undocumented immigrants.
The blowback has been swift and vocal, with protests erupting across the country. Some call for passengers to boycott the airline, while others have urged government officials to eliminate financial incentives to Avelo for its commercial operations — or to block the operations altogether.
A New York Times article, noting that Avelo flies to several “liberal cities on the coasts,” suggested the airline is “aiding Trump’s deportation campaign.”
Harvey said Maryland activists were inspired when they heard about protests targeting Avelo in Connecticut, which have spread across the country.
“The national campaign is a bunch of local, grassroots operations that got in touch with each other,” he said.
Similarly, Martinez said lawmakers in Maryland, responding to the concerns of their constituents, have spoken to their counterparts in other states about strategy and tactics.
“I’ve heard from constituents throughout my district,” he said. “They’re really concerned that their tax dollars are being used in some way to deport their neighbors.”
The 2022 deal struck between Avelo and Maryland transportation officials allows either party to terminate the contract for the airline to run commercial flights out of BWI with just 30 days’ notice — which means Moore could end the agreement in short order.
“There should be no repercussions if the state decided that Avelo should pack up in 30 days,” Harvey said.
Jonathan Dean, a spokesperson for the Maryland Aviation Administration and BWI, said the state provided no financial incentives to the airline when it arrived in 2022. He said information on what revenues the state is deriving from the arrangement with Avelo could only be obtained through a Maryland Public Information Act request. Commercial airlines typically pay the state landing fees and charges related to facilities and equipment rental at BWI.
Avelo is currently running a total of four round-trip commercial flights a week in and out of BWI, to and from New Haven, Connecticut, and to and from Wilmington, North Carolina, Dean said. Between July 1, 2024, and June 30 this year, Avelo flew 36,164 commercial passengers at BWI, he said, for a passenger market share of 0.14%.
Courtney Goff, a spokesperson for Avelo, told Maryland Matters that the airline is aware of the protests in Maryland and across the country. But she referred questions on the ICE flights to the Department of Homeland Security.
“We recognize the right of individuals to peacefully assemble and assert their freedom of speech,” Goff said in an email. “Avelo’s main priority continues to be maintaining the safety and timeliness of our operation that nearly eight million Customers across the country continue to enjoy.”
The ICE media office did not respond to an email with a series of questions about possible detainee flights out of Maryland airports in 2025.
But even if Maryland ended its arrangement with Avelo for commercial flights, that would not prevent Avelo or other carriers from running detainee flights out of BWI or other state airports.
A sign protesting Avelo’s contracts with ICE to fly immigrants to detention centers in Louisiana. (Photo by Josh Kurtz)
Flights arranged by ICE “are part of a private contract between a flight operator and the federal government,” Dean said.
“A number of these flights have been arranged by the federal government and flown through a private fixed-base operator at BWI Marshall Airport. The national airspace, airline operations, and access to airports are regulated by federal law,” Dean said. “As a federally funded, public-use airport, BWI Marshall Airport is required by federal law to provide access to all certified air carriers without discrimination.
“The Maryland Aviation Administration (MAA) does not schedule, inspect, or authorize these flights,” he added.
Dean said MAA officials are aware of one ICE flight that Avelo operated this year carrying immigrants from BWI to the detention center in Louisiana. That’s one of about 30 detainee flights that departed from BWI this year, he said. The others have been operated by GlobalX, a charter airline, and the U.S. Coast Guard.
These flights have yielded no revenues for the state, Dean said. Activists will continue to pressure state policymakers on Avelo, Harvey said.
“Marylanders would like to see leaders do more,” he said.
