Avelo Airlines is preparing to take off from Humboldt County, permanently.
According to announcements from the company and the county of Humboldt, the low-cost carrier is ending all flights between the Arcata-Eureka airport and Burbank after Dec. 2 as the airline pulls out of servicing the West Coast altogether.
The move comes amid local and national backlash, including online boycott petitions, over Avelo’s decision to enter into a contract with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, more commonly known as ICE, to provide chartered deportation flights out of Arizona.
In response, the Eureka City Council voted earlier this month to stop using the airline for official business, a largely symbolic gesture as the city has only spent a nominal amount using Avelo, with City Manager Miles Slattery saying last year’s total was about $2,500, according to media reports.
Avelo spokesperson Courtney Goff said in an email to the Journal that pushback did not play a role in the decision affecting airports in mostly smaller markets up and down the coast.
“Protests nor our contract with DHS had any effect on our decision and have not impacted our business,” she wrote.
The statement says the decision to shutter Avelo’s base at Burbank (BUR) after more than four years was made following “careful consideration” and beginning Aug. 12 the company will reduce operations there down “to one aircraft before exiting the remaining aircraft” on Dec. 2.
“There is rarely one singular reason why decisions like this are made, and this one is no different. We believe the continuation service from BUR in the current operating environment will not deliver adequate financial returns in a highly competitive backdrop,” the statement says.
“Avelo has previously made several changes over the past few years to our West Coast operations to improve our financial results,” it continues. “Despite the investment of significant time, resources and efforts, our West Coast operations have not produced the results necessary to continue our presence there. The aircraft in BUR are expected to support growth in our East Coast bases, where we have significantly more opportunity to continue our path to sustainable cash flow generation.”
Goff said customers with booked flights “can visit the ‘Manage Trips’ section of our website to cancel their flight and receive a refund.” A release from the county states those with flights “will be notified about the changes to their flight reservations and refund options” and also points travelers to aveloair.com as well as the customer support line at (346) 616-9500.
The announcement comes just a few weeks after the company touted reaching a “major customer milestone” at Humboldt’s airport, saying in a release that “Avelo has flown more than 200,000 customers on more than 1,700 flights” since beginning local service four-days a week four years ago.
Avelo’s departure, unless something changes in the interim, means residents looking to fly out locally will only have one option in United Airlines, with flights to Los Angeles, San Francisco and Denver, amid the busy holiday travel season.
A release from the county of Humboldt says “efforts to recruit new air service providers remain a top priority … to meet the growing travel needs of the region” and states the “Humboldt Department of Aviation, in partnership with the County Administrative Office’s Economic Development Division, continues to engage with carriers to expand air service, including northbound service options.”
Second District Supervisor and board Chair Michelle Bushnell reiterated that message.
“Humboldt County has so much to offer travelers, and we know that more people have been choosing to fly out of ACV than ever before,” she says in the release. “We are committed to supporting the needs of our local travelers and visitors, and the county is actively looking for new destinations and opportunities to expand service at ACV.”
This article appears in The Disappearing Registrants.
