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Protesters at Dulles Airport, called on Avelo Airlines to cancel its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate deportation flights, both domestically and internationally, including to Central American countries.
Around two dozen protesters handed flyers to passengers at the airport, located in Dulles, Virginia, outside of D.C.
“We are concerned that some of the people who are being sent on these deportation flights have had no due process, or are U.S. citizens, and who belong here in the United States,” said Mike Sorohan, who co-founded the group Indivisible of Franconia, with his wife Erica.
In the permitted demonstration, with protesters holding signs outside the doors of the terminal near the west security gate, Sorohan said he hoped to spread awareness of how Avelo is utilizing its contract, even though Avelo has a small presence at Dulles.
”It’s not a big airline,” Sorohan said. “They only have two commercial flights every Thursday, to Wilmington, North Carolina, and New Haven, Connecticut,” where the airline is based.
This is the group’s first protest at Dulles, although Avelo protests have been held in other cities, including in Baltimore, Maryland.
“There’s no ICE flights coming out of Dulles, but we want to make people who fly Avelo aware of what Avelo is doing, and discourage them from making flight plans in the future,” Sorohan said.
WTOP is seeking comment from the airline about the effort to dissuade Avelo passengers from future travel.
“My hope is they will find alternate flights to the cities they want to go to,” Sorohan said. “This is a huge airport — there are flights to New Haven and Wilmington.”
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