Eureka city employees typically book the cheapest flights they can find for official city business. When heading to Southern California, that's usually Avelo Airlines.
But the low-cost airline that flies out of the Humboldt County Airport has been under scrutiny since signing a contract to operate deportation flights for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Humboldt County resident Anne Fricke was among the many attendees at the meeting Tuesday night, asking the council to ban the airline.
“We cannot, as a community, support any part of the abductions, kidnappings, forced removals and disappearances," Fricke said. "ICE will likely be in our community soon, and we must be a united front from the beginning."
Humboldt Democracy Connections, a local activist group, has been hanging banners across local overpasses saying, "AVELO FLIES 4 ICE," to encourage residents to avoid the airline.
Eureka Council Member G. Mario Fernandez requested this review of city policy, noting that Eureka declared itself a sanctuary city back in March.
“Avelo’s operation of deportation flights in contract with ICE is legal, though not moral," he said. "And we should not be complicit or complacent in the denial of due process or other 14th Amendment rights.”
The council voted unanimously to stop using Avelo for city business and instead fly with United, the only other airline with scheduled flights from the airport. The city manager said that it would probably cost the city around $1,000 more per year.
But council members said it’s about the statement the city is making by pushing back against attacks on undocumented residents.
"Though the economic impact is rather small in terms of Avelo's overall budget related to our decision tonight," Council Member Leslie Castellano said. "Our decision not to fly on this airline represents a statement that there are better choices and better futures possible for our community."
