While the first years following its launch in 2021 saw a rapid expansion to dozens of smaller cities underserved by mainstream airlines, Houston-based Avelo Airlines has been having an increasingly challenging time staying in the market.
Last fall, the low-cost airline completely exited out of its West Coast market by shutting down bases in Burbank, Sonoma and Las Vegas. While these exits were announced in the summer, Avelo later also ended up quietly axing routes between Tweed New Haven Airport (HVN) in Connecticut and Portland International Jetport Airport (PWM) in Maine as part of what it classified as “revenues on the market not cover[ing] the costs.”
Separately, Avelo has also faced prolonged protests and boycotts over the choice to continue running deportation flights for the Trump administration. In April 2025, Avelo founder and CEO Andrew Levy called running flights for U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) “controversial [but …] too valuable not to pursue.”
Avelo exits Mesa, Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington while also scaling down Boeing fleet
After a series of route cuts throughout the end of 2025, Avelo Airlines just confirmed that it will exit an additional three airports permanently: Phoenix Mesa Gateway (AZA), Raleigh-Durham (RDU) and Wilmington (ILM).
Local outlet Arizona Family was the first to report that the closure of the Mesa base means that Avelo will no longer run deportation flights from this site. Avelo will run its last commercial flights out of AZA on Jan. 27 but has not confirmed the timeline around phasing out deportation flights; much of its previous flights in this regard was shrouded in secrecy as the airport became the site of growing protests.
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“The program provided short-term benefits but ultimately did not deliver enough consistent and predictable revenue to overcome its operational complexity and costs,” an Avelo Airlines spokesperson said in a statement.
In additional cost-cutting measures, Avelo also plans to downsize its fleet by returning six Boeing 737-700 planes to their lessors and instead operating flights only on its eight 737-800 jets. The carrier has also not provided comment on how many jobs will be affected by these changes.
Booked ticket out of one of the closing Avelo bases? What you need to do for that refund
Other plans include reworking its network to operate primarily out of four bases at New Haven Tweed (HVN) in Connecticut, Wilmington New Castle (ILG) in Delaware, Concord Regional Airport (USA) in New Hampshire and Lakeland Linder (LAL) in Florida along with a fifth base at McKinney National Airport (TKI) in Texas slated to open at the end of 2026.
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Those who booked travel out of the three affected airports beyond the scheduled last flight can either wait to be contacted by the airline or reach out through the website or their booking if their fare class does not allow independently initiating a refund.
On its website, Avelo states that anyone for whom “the next available flight time is not a viable option” can “cancel the reservation on the impacted flight and refund your purchase to your original form of payment.”
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