Avelo Airlines, which has come under fire for agreeing to transport detained immigrants, announced July 9 it is extending its East Coast flight schedule to mid-February 2026. Avelo has routes to 11 Florida airports.
The Houston, Texas based airline, which bills itself as “ultra-low cost,” flies to 53 cities in 21 states across the U.S., as well as the Bahamas, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, Mexico, and Puerto Rico.
“With Avelo’s everyday low fares and industry-leading reliability, it’s the perfect time for travelers to get a head start on booking their holiday vacations or weekend getaways to nearly 40 popular destinations,” said Avelo’s Head of Commercial Trevor Yealy in a release.
“Avelo offers somewhere for everyone — from award-winning beaches to outdoor adventure destinations and cultural hotspots.”
Avelo recently canceled routes between Daytona Beach and two destinations: Concord, North Carolina (which had just started a month previous), and Hartford, Connecticut. The company cited low demand and overlapping service. Other Avelo routes to Daytona Beach are still ongoing.
Protests erupt after Avelo agrees to immigrant deportation flights
In May, protests erupted at airports in 26 cities — including Daytona Beach, Sarasota, Fort Lauderdale and Lakeland, Avelo’s Central Florida base — over the airline’s agreement with the Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) to carry out immigrant deportation flights out of Arizona.
Critics condemned the airline’s cooperation with the Trump administration’s plans for mass deportations and said the flights were inhumane and carried out without due process. Millions nationwide have protested ICE and Homeland Security for increased raids by masked officials and a perceived lack of public accountability.
“We realize this is a sensitive and complicated topic. 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’s founder and CEO, Andrew Levy, said in a statement.
A Change.org petition launched by the New Haven Immigrants Coalition calling for a boycott until Avelo halts deportation plans has gathered nearly 40,000 signatures as of July 11.
Which Florida airports does Avelo service?
According to the company’s destinations page, Avelo currently has routes to and from:
What types of planes does Avelo Airlines have in its fleet?
Avelo Airlines has a fleet of 210 Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft. consisting of eight 737-700s and 13 737-800s.
The Boeing 737-700 has 149 seats, with 44 “extra leg room seats.”
The 737-800 has 189 seats, with 57 “extra leg room seats.”
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Avelo extends Florida flight schedule to 2026. See destination. Here’s where
Reporting by C. A. Bridges and Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
