US budget carrier Avelo Airlines will cease all operations from its base at Hollywood Burbank Airport later this year, citing financial difficulties against a competitive operating environment at the airport.
The airline, which launched operations at its West Coast base over four years ago, said that on August 12, 2025, it will reduce operations at Burbank to one aircraft, before exiting the remaining aircraft on December 2, 2025, and closing the base.
“We intend to redeploy these aircraft to business areas where we see more efficient longer-term growth prospects, while also building depth and breadth to our East Coast operation,” said Avelo's CEO Andrew Levy.
Avelo currently operates eight routes from Burbank to regional airports on the US West Coast.
The base closure comes amid growing scrutiny of the airline in recent months, following Avelo’s agreement to operate long-term charter flights for the US Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), transporting individuals as part of deportation operations.
Since May, nearly 40,000 people have signed an online petition titled - “We won't fly Avelo until they stop ICE flights!”, calling for the airline to revoke this decision.
The online petition claims that a leaked internal memo from the airline states that deportation flights will make up for operating losses at Tweed Airport, Connecticut. The petition was launched by the New Haven Immigrants Coalition, a group advocating for immigration rights in the region, where Avelo Airlines’ main East Coast hub is located.
When asked whether the base closure was connected to criticism over the airline’s involvement in deportation flights, a spokesperson for Avelo Airlines told Airline Economics that the decision was entirely unrelated to its Arizona-based charter operations.