Avelo To Tong: Try FOIA

Avelo’s CEO told the state’s attorney general that he can see a copy of the budget airline’s deportation contract — if he submits a Freedom of Information Act request to the relevant federal agency.

Avelo Airlines CEO Andrew Levy offered that advice in a one-page letter he sent to state Attorney General William Tong Tuesday.

“A copy of the relevant federal contract can be obtained from the DHS [Department of Homeland Security] via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request,” Levy wrote to the state’s attorney general.

He continued: ​“Consequently, questions regarding the contract’s scope of work, including passenger ages, flight origins, DHS communications with the courts, passenger restraint protocols, and instructions provided to contractors should be directed to DHS, which oversees and enforces all relevant immigration matters.”

Levy’s letter comes a week after Tong sent Avelo a public letter of his own slamming the airline for agreeing to run deportation flights for the Trump administration out of a new base in Arizona starting this May.

Avelo’s deportation contract has sparked public condemnations from Tong, Mayor Justin Elicker, the Board of Alders, and New Haven State Sen. and President Pro Tem Martin Looney. It’s also inspired a protest at Tweed and a grassroots online boycott that has now surpassed 32,800 signatures.

At the top of the list of questions in Tong’s April 8 letter to Levy was a request to see a copy of Avelo’s contract with DHS. He also asked the airline to confirm that it won’t operate deportation flights from any Connecticut airport and that it will never operate flights with shackled children.

Tong gave Avelo a week to respond.

Sure enough, on Tuesday, Levy sent a letter to Tong. 

In addition to stating that the DHS contract is available via a FOIA request, Levy wrote to the attorney general that ​“we do believe from the tone of your letter that there is a fundamental misunderstanding how the federal government contracts the flights that are the subject of your letter.”

Tong linked to Levy’s letter in a follow-up press release sent on Tuesday in which he made clear his dissatisfaction with Levy’s response.

“Today’s response from Avelo is totally unacceptable because it contains no response at all,” Tong is quoted as saying in Tuesday’s press release. ​“Their overly legalistic and technical letter is insulting and condescending to the people of Connecticut who have invested in and committed millions of dollars to Avelo’s success. What’s more, telling the Office of the Attorney General to pound sand and to ask the Department of Homeland Security for a copy of their contract through FOIA is a callous back-of-the-hand that shows they really don’t care what we think. It is clear all they intend to do is take state support and make money off other people’s suffering.”

Avelo flies more than two dozen direct routes out of Tweed after making New Haven its East Coast hub in November 2021. The airline is also the beneficiary of a state aviation fuel tax cut.

In public statements, Avelo Airlines CEO Andrew Levy has defended the deportation-flight contract as providing Avelo with some protection from ​“fluctuating fuel prices” and other ​“macroeconomic factors,” all in service of allowing the company to ​“grow our core business, which is scheduled passenger travel.”

An internal-company email Levy sent out on April 3 justified the deportation-flight contract as helping offset Avelo’s growing financial troubles at Tweed amid a steep increase in passenger-travel competition. A Tweed spokesperson has consistently dismissed this claim as ​“bizarre and untrue,” citing how Tweed’s ​“exceptional performance has helped power Avelo’s national expansion, as they have since expanded into new or slower-performing markets, all while Tweed continues to shatter previous records.”