Avelo Airlines to end Salem service following backlash over deportation flights

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Avelo Airlines will end service in Oregon’s capital after residents called for city officials to terminate their contract with the company.

In a statement to KOIN 6, Avelo revealed it is “exiting the Salem market completely.” Its final flight arriving at or departing from the Salem Municipal Airport is slated for Sunday, Aug. 10. The company was the first commercial airline to serve the small airport when it began service in October 2023.

Avelo said customers have already been informed about changes to their bookings and potential refund options. While the company has remained tight-lipped about the reasoning behind its decision to stop service, the statement comes less than a month after locals pushed city leaders to end their agreement with the airline.

In April, Avelo announced it had finalized an agreement to charter the Department of Homeland Security’s deportation flights from Arizona’s Mesa Gateway Airport. During a public hearing at Salem City Council in late June, several residents argued the city’s contract with the airline showed “inaction” toward President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown that has impacted community members.

Others — including Fly Salem leadership — expressed support for the contract, arguing that federal policies shouldn’t affect local agreements. Councilors added that terminating the contract could leave the city out of the $850,000 grant it received from the Federal Aviation Administration, and the $350,000 that residents and businesses allocated toward another guarantee with the airline.

KOIN 6 has reached out to the City of Salem for comment.

But Avelo isn’t solely walking back its Salem agreement. The company has also announced it will reduce its service at the Hollywood Burbank Airport to just one aircraft on Aug. 12, before closing the base entirely on Dec. 2.

The end in service was “not an easy decision,” according to the airline.

“Our company’s deepest operational roots are in BUR, having launched our first flight there over four years ago during the COVID pandemic,” Avelo said in a statement. “There is rarely one singular reason why decisions like this are made, and this one is no different. We believe the continuation service from BUR in the current operating environment will not deliver adequate financial returns in a highly competitive backdrop. The aircraft in BUR are expected to support growth in our East Coast bases, where we have significantly more opportunity to continue our path to sustainable cash flow generation.”