Tump's deportation push spurs aviation firm to buy up used jets
President Donald Trump’s plan for a massive increase in deportation flights relies in part on a little-known startup from Virginia that’s assembling a fleet of planes after winning a $140 million contract to provide the Department of Homeland Security with aircraft.
Since landing that DHS deal late last year, Daedalus Aviation Corp. has registered four Boeing Co. 737-700 aircraft previously used by discount carrier Avelo Inc., according to Federal Aviation Administration data.
Those jets could help Daedalus fulfill its commitment to DHS. The company, based in Arlington, Virginia, has no other aircraft registered to it, according to FAA data.
Trump’s attempt to remove hundreds of thousands of immigrants is heightening logistical challenges for the aviation industry, with consumer-facing airlines like Avelo shunning the deportation business and creating opportunities for lower-profile companies like Daedalus that are less vulnerable to boycotts.
Daedalus didn’t respond to requests for comment. DHS didn’t respond to questions seeking details on its contract with Daedalus or whether the planes that the company had acquired would be used for deportation activities.
After months of protests for operating deportation flights, Avelo said earlier this month that it would discontinue such work citing financial reasons.
As part of a downsizing that also included shutting its operations at several airports, Avelo offloaded six Boeing 737 jets it had on lease.
That’s where Daedalus, named after a mythical Greek figure, came in.
The company doesn’t offer scheduled services or market directly to consumers, shielding Daedalus from some of the pressure faced by Avelo, an ultra-low cost airline that focuses on small airports such as New Haven, Connecticut.
Planes formerly leased to Avelo were listed as owned by Daedalus in early January, according to data from the FAA and aviation analytics firm Cirium. The Boeing Co. 737 planes are between 17 and 22 years old and were previously owned by Genesis Aircraft Services and Aero Capital Solutions, according to Cirium.
The Daedalus website describes the company’s mission as providing “precision aviation for critical missions,” including “high-tempo government-directed evacuations,” with access to both narrow- and widebody aircraft.
According to data from Virginia’s State Corporation Commission, the company’s formation date was 2024 and its president is William Allen Walters III.
A person with the same name served as the State Department’s deputy chief medical officer for operations during the first Trump administration, according to his biography page on LinkedIn, and is chief executive officer at Salus Worldwide Solutions Corp., which last May won a $915 million air services contract with DHS to carry out deportations.
Walters didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“DHS has acquired aircraft through a third party, and those aircraft are now in DHS possession and will support multi-use missions, including removals of criminal illegal aliens,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
Opponents of Trump’s deportation policies have increased their protests following an ICE officer’s fatal shooting of a woman, Renee Good, in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey on Jan. 8 wrote to executives at Miami-based Global Crossing Airlines Group Inc. and Eastern Air Express, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, calling on them to end their deportation flights from her state.
ICE Air Operations, the agency’s primary transport division, relies on a mix of chartered aircraft as well as some military or commercial flights, but DHS in December confirmed it signed a contract with Daedalus worth roughly $140 million for the company to provide the department with planes for an in-house fleet.
The agreement would allow ICE to to use “more efficient flight patterns,” McLaughlin said in a social media post after the deal was first reported by the Washington Post.
ICE deported more than 300,000 people last year, well short of internal administration goals of about 1 million.
Since landing that DHS deal late last year, Daedalus Aviation Corp. has registered four Boeing Co. 737-700 aircraft previously used by discount carrier Avelo Inc., according to Federal Aviation Administration data.
Those jets could help Daedalus fulfill its commitment to DHS. The company, based in Arlington, Virginia, has no other aircraft registered to it, according to FAA data.
Trump’s attempt to remove hundreds of thousands of immigrants is heightening logistical challenges for the aviation industry, with consumer-facing airlines like Avelo shunning the deportation business and creating opportunities for lower-profile companies like Daedalus that are less vulnerable to boycotts.
Daedalus didn’t respond to requests for comment. DHS didn’t respond to questions seeking details on its contract with Daedalus or whether the planes that the company had acquired would be used for deportation activities.
After months of protests for operating deportation flights, Avelo said earlier this month that it would discontinue such work citing financial reasons.
As part of a downsizing that also included shutting its operations at several airports, Avelo offloaded six Boeing 737 jets it had on lease.
That’s where Daedalus, named after a mythical Greek figure, came in.
The company doesn’t offer scheduled services or market directly to consumers, shielding Daedalus from some of the pressure faced by Avelo, an ultra-low cost airline that focuses on small airports such as New Haven, Connecticut.
Planes formerly leased to Avelo were listed as owned by Daedalus in early January, according to data from the FAA and aviation analytics firm Cirium. The Boeing Co. 737 planes are between 17 and 22 years old and were previously owned by Genesis Aircraft Services and Aero Capital Solutions, according to Cirium.
The Daedalus website describes the company’s mission as providing “precision aviation for critical missions,” including “high-tempo government-directed evacuations,” with access to both narrow- and widebody aircraft.
According to data from Virginia’s State Corporation Commission, the company’s formation date was 2024 and its president is William Allen Walters III.
A person with the same name served as the State Department’s deputy chief medical officer for operations during the first Trump administration, according to his biography page on LinkedIn, and is chief executive officer at Salus Worldwide Solutions Corp., which last May won a $915 million air services contract with DHS to carry out deportations.
Walters didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
“DHS has acquired aircraft through a third party, and those aircraft are now in DHS possession and will support multi-use missions, including removals of criminal illegal aliens,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement.
Opponents of Trump’s deportation policies have increased their protests following an ICE officer’s fatal shooting of a woman, Renee Good, in Minneapolis on Jan. 7.
Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey on Jan. 8 wrote to executives at Miami-based Global Crossing Airlines Group Inc. and Eastern Air Express, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, calling on them to end their deportation flights from her state.
ICE Air Operations, the agency’s primary transport division, relies on a mix of chartered aircraft as well as some military or commercial flights, but DHS in December confirmed it signed a contract with Daedalus worth roughly $140 million for the company to provide the department with planes for an in-house fleet.
The agreement would allow ICE to to use “more efficient flight patterns,” McLaughlin said in a social media post after the deal was first reported by the Washington Post.
ICE deported more than 300,000 people last year, well short of internal administration goals of about 1 million.
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