Earlier this year, Texas-based Avelo Airlines began contracting with U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate deportation flights out of the United States. While there is no indication any of these flights are originating from Albany International Airport, several advocates and lawmakers have launched efforts to ground Avelo’s Capital Region operations. However, not everyone agrees with these efforts.
Leyla Kiosse is the operational lead for Indivisible Albany, the main local advocacy group pushing for Avelo’s departure. She says although Avelo does not directly carry deportation flights out of New York state, the company’s broader actions directly impact Albany.
“It’simportant that they leave, because Avelo receives benefits from operating out of Albany County Airport,” said Kiosse. “A company that is complicit with the destruction of democracy, with the destruction of constitutional rights that people have in this country, should not be entitled to the benefit of a community that they're dismantling, essentially.”
Indivisible Albany is part of a larger nationwide movement to pressure airports to cut ties with Avelo as a result of their affiliation with ICE. They have staged protests at the airport and are now pushing the Albany County Legislature to take action. Last month, eight legislators signed on to a statement urging the Albany County Airport Authority Board to pressure Avelo to cease local operations.
Separate from this activism, Albany’s state senator Patricia Fahy, a Democrat, has introduced legislation that would remove Avelo’s tax incentives for operating out of the Albany.
Still, not everyone supports taking a stance against Avelo. For its part, the Albany International Airport said in a statement that federal law bars the airport from discriminating against airlines without reasonable cause.
In a statement to WAMC, the county legislature’s Democratic Majority Leader Dennis Feeney said ending the Albany airport’s contract with the airline could have financial consequences costing Albany County taxpayers around $50 million. Feeney did not elaborate on how he got to that number.
Paul Burgdorf, the Republican County legislator who represents the 23rd district, says he worries about increasing airfares if Avelo departs.
“That competition is what makes air traffic more affordable,” said Burgdorf. “If you did not have the competition there would be a monopoly for one carrier to charge whatever they want.
Burgdorf said he’s also concerned about some people’s personal beliefs impacting how others choose to fly.
“People have a right to vote for whoever they want,” said Burgdorf. “But you do not have a right to disenfranchise me or stop me from using a legitimate, high quality air service across the United States.”
Democrat County Legislator Samuel Fein is one of the eight lawmakers to sign the statement to the Albany County Airport Authority Board. He says even if flying with Avelo is a personal choice, that personal choice has a broader community impact.
“Just we can personally choose which airline we want to fly, I think as a community, we can choose what our values are,” said Fein. “We can decide, you know, which airlines that we want to support as a community, and we can make a choice to not support businesses that are committing inhumane acts and acting in unconstitutional ways.
The statement that Fein and others signed commended Fahy for introducing the SAFE Air act in May. the bill aims to prevent airlines engaging in deportation flights from taking advantage of New York State tax credits for jet fuel purchases. It also calls for prohibiting New York State agencies and local governments from working with commercial airlines that contract with ICE. Fahy said this bill was a way to work around potential federal law violations by using the state’s powers to take a stance.
“It really is about not having our tax dollars subsidizing private sector businesses that are participating in or even indirectly aiding these immigration enforcement actions that are undermining traditional law enforcement and violating fundamental due process rights of individuals.” said Fahy.
Fein added that Fahy’s proposal, along with county legislators’ actions, can present a clear statement to Avelo.
“I think if airports throughout the country take action and say, ‘We're not willing to work with Avelo, we're not willing to have flights from Avelo at our airports,’ Avewlo, will be hurt economically,” said Fein. “And then, there’s a good chance they'll backtrack and they'll cancel this agreement.
In a statement to WAMC, an Avelo spokesperson said, “We recognize the right of individuals to peacefully assemble. Avelo's main priority continues to be maintaining the safety and timeliness of our operation that over eight million Customers across the country continue to enjoy.”
Kiosse, the advocate with Indivisible, says she has not been satisfied with the county’s actions so far. She says the legislature was able to successfully lobby the airport to take down a controversial TSA video in which Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem blamed Democrats during the government shutdown. She believes local leaders can do more regarding Avelo.
“So don't tell me that there's no power here,” said Kiosse. “And if they truly have no legislative power around this, they could do the bare minimum, which they're not doing.”
