Protest planned near Bradley airport over airline’s contract with ICE
WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn. — Protesters from Massachusetts are planning to join a standout scheduled this weekend near the region's commercial airport over a low-cost airline's contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Avelo Airlines, which operates a base out of Bradley International Airport, has drawn the ire of local advocates over the contract it signed with ICE to perform deportation flights for the agency.
On Sunday afternoon, protesters from Massachusetts and Connecticut plan to hold a standout on a bridge carrying Route 75 over Route 20, which is the main route leading to the airport in Windsor Locks. They're urging a boycott of Avelo in an effort to pressure the carrier to end its contract with ICE. Organizers said the protest is also aimed at Connecticut Airport Authority, which operates Bradley, urging it to block any deportation flights from taking off there and Tweed New Haven Airport.
Reached via email for comment, Michael W. Shea, executive director of the authority, said he can speak regarding Bradley and has no oversight of Tweed.
"The (authority) respects the rights of those who wish to peacefully protest. Additionally, the CAA is not aware of any deportation flights arriving at or departing from (Bradley)," Shea said in the statement. "It is also important to note that, per Federal Aviation Administration rules, the CAA cannot discriminate against airlines."
Shea noted that Bradley is "a public-use airport," meaning all users can get access to flights regardless of their political views or business arrangements.
"We hope you understand that the presence of any particular airline at BDL is not indicative of the CAA's support for, or opposition to, any of that airline's actions or views," he said.
Robin Henrie, a leader of the group Indivisible North Central Connecticut, said Avelo protests have occurred frequently outside the airport in New Haven, Connecticut. U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal spoke at one in April.
Her group, which started in March, is "catching up" and collaborated with the Indivisible group out of Northampton to organize Sunday's protest.
"We thought it was time to start putting pressure up here, as well," Henrie said. "We can let people know that, 'Hey, you have a choice of airlines. If you feel strongly about this, perhaps you want to take a different airline.'"
The scheduled protest comes months after Connecticut Attorney General William Tong sent the airline a letter , asking for details about its contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
"No one is forcing Avelo to operate these flights," Tong wrote. "If reporting is accurate, Avelo has freely chosen to profit from and facilitate these atrocities."
Tong said in his letter that if the company didn't affirm commitments to the rule of law and public safety, then he would recommend the state walk back its support for the airline, which includes exemptions from the state's tax on aviation fuel.
A spokesperson for the Connecticut Attorney General's Office said Avelo's fuel tax breaks expired on June 30.
In its reply to the attorney general in April, Avelo said it complies with federal regulations and directed his questions to DHS and the Federal Aviation Administration.
Asked about the scheduled protest, Avelo spokesperson Courtney Goff said the company doesn't have any commercial flights scheduled at the airport until the end of October, and it has not flown a deportation flight from there.
"We have not done any government flying in the state of Connecticut. All Connecticut flights are commercial only," Goff wrote in an email.
Based on the number of people who have RSVP'd, Henrie expects between 125 to 200 protesters on Sunday. She hopes the groups might be able to organize recurring protests about Avelo's ICE contract.
Henrie added that Indivisible groups have put pressure on Avelo through multiple fronts, from contacting lawmakers to organizing letter-writing campaigns to universities that use the airline to transport their sports teams.
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