New Hampshire Representative Fights Avelo Airlines’ ICE Deportation Flights

State Representative Seth Miller of Dover, New Hampshire has launched a boycott campaign against Avelo Airlines due to their contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for deportation flights. After seeing the news of this partnership in early April, Miller strongly disagreed with the Trump administration’s handling of deportations and felt compelled to take action.

Miller raised approximately $6,000 to rent two billboards in New Haven, Connecticut with the message “Does your vacation support their deportation? Just say AvelNO! ” The billboards featured an altered image of an Avelo aircraft and a parody of the company’s tagline. Located along Interstate 95 in New Haven, the billboards were strategically placed to target Avelo’s busiest hub out of Tweed New Haven Airport. Avelo is known for its low-cost flights out of small coastal airports.

As a self-employed aviation journalist, Miller initially had reservations about speaking out against an airline, but his moral convictions outweighed his concerns. He stated that he loves aviation and dislikes seeing it used to separate families. Avelo’s founder and CEO, Andrew Levy, has stated that the contract with ICE is necessary to financially support the airline and keep their over 1,100 crew members employed.

However, Miller believes that if Avelo’s business model includes operating deportation flights, then perhaps the company should shut down. Four days after the billboards were put up, Miller received a cease-and-desist letter from Avelo Airlines, claiming that he had breached the company’s trademark. The letter also threatened liability for Lamar Advertising, the company that Miller had signed a contract with for the billboards. As a result, the billboards were taken down a few days later.

Miller has since filed a lawsuit against Avelo in a Nevada court, seeking a declaratory judgement that he did not infringe on the company’s trademark and that he has the right to express his sentiments through his campaign. He is also asking the court to prevent Avelo from interfering with his business and to allow his billboards to be put back up.

Miller’s boycott campaign has gained attention, with protests occurring at the New Haven airport and a feature in The New York Times. While he is disappointed that the campaign is now in litigation and the billboards are down, he hopes that it will continue to raise awareness about Avelo’s partnership with ICE and discourage people from booking flights with the airline.

Currently, Miller is working with Lamar to come up with a new graphic for the billboards, but the legal action has put things on hold. His ultimate goal is to have the original graphics back up on the billboards.