Akron-Canton Airport has become a major hub for an airline charter company that conducts immigrant transportation and deportations.
More than 130 chartered Boeing 737 flights operated by Eastern Air Express have landed at Akron-Canton since April 20, sometimes to pick up people in restraints who have disembarked from a prison bus or unmarked vans. Some of the planes are serviced and then wait several hours or a few days to be dispatched to another airport that often is adjacent to or near a federal detention facility.
Eastern Air Express is one of several charter companies participating in a network of Homeland Security transfers and deportations for immigrants apprehended by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, according to a variety of news stories and government websites.
A private company at the north end of the airport, identified by airport officials as AVFlight, services the Eastern Air Express planes and provides access to the tarmac for prison buses and vans. An email and a phone message to AVFlight on July 24 were not returned.
Eastern Air Express is part of Eastern Airlines, headquartered in Kansas City.
From a vantage point on North Airport Road and looking beyond a chain link fence, one can see mostly Black and brown detainees who appear to be cuffed and shackled disembarking from buses and vans, checked by guards and then instructed to climb the stairs to the plane, one at a time.
Most planes can be tracked online at FlightAware.com, though a few of the Eastern Air flights have been blocked from public view.
On July 21, detainees from two buses, one with the markings of Transcor America and the other unmarked, boarded an Eastern Air Boeing 737 with the tail number N668CP, which departed in mid-morning for Richmond, Virginia. Their hands were bound and hanging at their waists. Some wore white t-shirts and gray pants, though many were in street clothes.
Transcor is a subsidiary of CoreCivic, a private prison company with a prison in Youngstown that last year announced an expansion shortly after Donald Trump’s inauguration to accommodate immigrant detentions. A CoreCivic official declined to discuss transportation of detainees who might have gone to Akron-Canton.
The airport activity comes at the same time that temporary protective status ends for Haitian immigrants, as ordered by the president. Trump targeted Springfield, Ohio, in the 2024 presidential debate with untruths about Haitians living there. Thousands of Haitians have found work in the Springfield area after being encouraged by local employers and a network of immigrant advocates, mostly led by clergy, have organized to resist.
An Eastern Air flight that landed at the Akron-Canton Airport in the past week had initially filed a flight plan to Springfield.
The activity at Akron-Canton’s buildings 36-41 on North Airport Drive varies from day to day. On most days, there is one Eastern Air plane, sometimes two.
On July 22, a black transport van with Ohio government plates and an open door was at the AVFlight location. Nearby, at the foot of the stairs to Eastern Air jet N808TJ were six people in matching uniforms and ball caps talking with three men in street clothes.
The plane and the van departed shortly afterward, with the plane destined for Bedford, Massachusetts, a hotly contested deportation site that has drawn the Massachusetts governor into protests.
On July 19, an Eastern Air jet made a direct flight to Akron-Canton from Tapachula International Airport near the Mexico-Guatemala border, non-stop, according to the FlightAware online tracking system. Tapachula has become a primary drop-off point for U.S. deportations.
Homeland Security operations at Akron-Canton temporary, airport spokeswoman says
Building 41 still bears the name of Ultimate Jet Charters, a company that went out of business in 2025, according to airport officials. Ultimate Jet became the subject of national news in 2022 when it provided the planes used by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to fly about 50 newly arrived immigrants to Martha’s Vineyard, where former president Barack Obama owns a home.
The appearance of flights out of Akron-Canton occurred immediately after the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport closed its runways to large planes. The airport has been in line for major runway improvements for several years and this summer is undergoing reconstruction of runway surfaces.
It’s unclear why Akron-Canton was chosen as a site for the flights.
Lisa Dalpiaz, a spokeswoman for the Akron-Canton Airport, said Homeland Security operations at the airport are expected to be temporary, but she did not know how long. She also said the airport only tracks plane landings and takeoffs for billing purposes and has no knowledge of how many people may be on the planes.
She said that as a public airport, “We cannot legally restrict access to [Akron-Canton] for public or private aircraft operations, including aircraft chartered for federal government purposes.”
Asked if the airport might pursue Eastern Air to become a more permanent operator, she said: “After AVFlight’s temporary arrangement, [Akron-Canton] has no plans to pursue Eastern Air as the airline does not align with our strategic priorities. Our focus remains on strengthening relationships with airline partners that meet the Airport’s strategic objectives and provide reliable, long-term value for travelers and the region.”
According to the Western Reserve Port Authority, which oversees Youngstown-Warren, about $21 million in improvements to the main runway and taxiways are occurring now and likely to be completed in the next few months. An email to the airport authority seeking a more definitive completion date was not immediately answered.
The Youngstown airport previously served as Ohio’s most active immigration and customs transfer portal, according to independent ICE monitoring organizations that actively track flights on publicly available websites.
The Youngstown-Warren airport is in a rural area eight miles from the Youngstown CoreCivic prison. CoreCivic announced early in the administration of Donald J. Trump that it was expanding in Youngstown to accommodate anticipated growth in immigrant arrests. In addition, the Mahoning County sheriff in Youngstown and the Geauga County sheriff east of Cleveland have signed agreements to house immigrant arrestees.
An ABC News documentary aired July 17, ICE AIR: Inside America’s Secret Deportation Network, names Youngstown as a key hub and follows the movement of one Eastern Air Express Boeing 737 with the call sign “Tyson 57.”
After the improvement project began at Youngstown, Tyson 57 became a regular at Akron-Canton – at least 60 visits.
Three independent ICE tracking groups have identified Akron-Canton as a second-tier hub for deportation flights.
Protesters targeting Akron-Canton, other airports nationwide with ICE activity
In Northeast Ohio, the Ohio Immigrant Alliance has been monitoring flights from Youngstown and Akron-Canton for several months as well as preparing for increased arrests. The group is planning a protest at the Lauby Road entrance to the Akron-Canton Airport from 10 a.m. to noon Aug 1.
In Bedford, Massachusetts, an immigrant advocacy group has been tracking flights from Youngstown and Akron-Canton to Bedford’s Hanscom Field for more than a year, picketing weekly, according to news reports. They called on local and state officials to bring a stop to the flights.
Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey wrote then Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem demanding that Hanscom field no longer be used for the transportation of people detained by ICE.
An airport advisory commission last week heard an extensive report from the immigrant advocates who had been photographing Eastern Air activity for more than a year with estimates as to how many people were boarded on planes that they were able to observe.
Advocates are now calling for live camera surveillance, similar to livestreams installed at the Seattle airport following protests there.
Doug Oplinger is a retired reporter and editor for the Akron Beacon Journal. He continues to write and report on Ohio issues and designs and conducts community conversations on current issues. He can be emailed at oplingerdoug@gmail.com
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: How Akron-Canton Airport is becoming a major hub for deportations
Reporting by Doug Oplinger, Special to the Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Doug Oplinger, Special to the Akron Beacon Journal | USA TODAY Network
