Avelo Airlines to end Boise flights with new deal for deportations under Trump
Ultra-discount air carrier Avelo Airlines is pulling up stakes at the Boise Airport at the end of April in favor of flying people deported by the U.S. government under the Trump administration out of the country.
The airline confirmed to the Idaho Statesman on Tuesday that it had struck an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, widely known by the acronym ICE, under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. USA Today and The Associated Press were among the first to report on Avelo’s new business plan.
Boise Airport staff received word Monday from Avelo about its intentions of “a broader strategic shift,” airport spokesperson Shawna Samuelson told the Statesman by phone Tuesday.
“You know this as well as I do, all of these airlines get to make their own business decisions,” she said. “We’re sad that they’re leaving the Boise market.”
She declined to address the reason behind Avelo’s exit from the regional air hub after nearly three years of operations in Boise. Boise Airport Director Rebecca Hupp was unavailable for an interview, Samuelson said.
Boise Mayor Lauren McLean’s office also declined an interview request Tuesday evening.
Avelo will use three of its fleet of 737s based at Phoenix-Gateway Airport for the domestic and international flights of deported individuals, Avelo spokesperson Madison Glassman said in an emailed statement to the Statesman. President Donald Trump campaigned on purging unauthorized residents from the U.S. and has been trying to follow through as he nears his first 100 days in office, which arrives April 30.
Avelo will cease operations at the Boise Airport on April 27, Glassman said.
“We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic,” Avelo CEO Andrew Levy said in a statement to the Idaho Statesman. “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.”
Avelo launched service in Boise in May 2022 with a nonstop route to Burbank in Los Angeles County, California. The airline added a twice-weekly nonstop route to and from Sonoma County, California, before discontinuing its Southern California flight in and out of Boise. Now, the airline will depart altogether.
As part of its transition, Avelo will close its hub at the Sonoma County Airport on May 1, according to the region’s newspaper, the Santa Rosa Press Democrat. The hub brought 50 new jobs to the airport last year.
“What’s insane is that the Trump administration is making it more lucrative to participate in the deportation industrial complex than supporting the local tourist economy,” Sonoma County Supervisor Lynda Hopkins told the local newspaper.
Besides Boise, the airline’s operations in some other locations, including in Montana and Utah, will be halted to divert resources to its new base in Phoenix, the Press Democrat reported.
Avelo did not detail the terms of its new federal contract. But the airline plans to go on a hiring spree at its new base in Phoenix as it shifts some of its air service to deportations, Glassman said.
“We expect to begin hiring locally for these positions immediately,” the airline’s statement read. “Current Avelo crewmembers will have the first option to transfer to our new (Arizona) base.”
This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 7:53 PM.
