Avleo Airlines ICE Deportation Flight Billboards Lead To Legal Spat

Avelo Airlines recently got into the deportation flight business, as a way of diversifying its business model. The airline is basing three Boeing 737s at Phoenix Mesa Airport (AZA), to carry out President Trump’s deportation efforts.

As you’d expect, this decision has proven controversial among many, especially given that Avelo has focus cities in some pretty liberal areas. One blogger turned politician took out an ad to call out the airline, and is now facing a lawsuit, as reported by The New York Times, and flagged by Live and Let’s Fly. Is there any merit to this, or is this just a big company trying to bully a small organization?

Anti-Avelo deportation flight billboards taken down

Seth Miller is an aviation blogger and New Hampshire lawmaker. He’s not happy with Avelo’s decision to operate deportation flights, and he took his displeasure to the next level. He runs the AvGeek Action Alliance. As the organization describes its mission:

The AvGeek Action Alliance is committed to supporting the positive parts of the industry, while aggressively calling out those who choose otherwise. In short, every business must make a decision as to who it partners with. Similarly, every consumer must choose which businesses to patronize.

The latest target for the AvGeek Action Alliance is Avelo, after the organization raised around $6,000 for this cause. On Monday, May 5, 2025, the organization began a campaign with advertisements on two billboards near Tweed New Haven Airport (HVN), in Connecticut, which is a hub for the airline. The billboard showed a picture of an Avelo plane with a modified logo, reading as follows:

“Does your vacation support their deportation? Just say avelNO!”

Four days later, a lawyer for the airline sent Miller a letter, accusing him of trademark infringement and unfair competition. The letter claimed that it heard of “instances of actual confusion” among customers, who believed that the billboard was affiliated with the airline. The letter also stated that the airline could recoup damages of $150,000 per infringement, and demanded the billboards and associated website be removed, to “avoid any escalation of this matter.”

On top of that, the airline managed to persuade the billboard operator, Lamar Advertising, to take down the ads, to avoid getting involved in a legal fight.

Miller fights back, sues Avelo for squashing free speech

On Friday, May 16, 2025, Miller fought back, and filed a lawsuit against the airline in Nevada, where the company was incorporated. He has asked a court to affirm that he was only exercising his freedom of speech:

“I have the right to raise objections to their business actions, just as much as they have the right to advertise their business.”

“This contract was signed after we knew that they were sending people to the wrong countries, that they were doing it without hearings. I think that’s disgusting and needs to be called out.”

As Miller’s lawyer, Charlie Gerstein, explains:

“The First Amendment protects Miller’s speech here, and the principle underlying that is that Avelo can make its own speech. Avelo is free to respond to Miller in the marketplace of ideas but is not free to use baseless threats of litigation to silence him.”

Is there merit to Avelo’s billboard claims?

Let’s forget the politics of the topic for a moment, since we don’t need to debate the merit of deportation flights in the comments section. I think most of us agree that reasonable free speech should exist, and that people should have the right to express displeasure with the decisions a for-profit company makes.

I’m no lawyer, but it seems like the only potential case that Avelo would have against this campaign is regarding potential copyright infringement. It sure seems to me like this would fall under a typical fair use concept, no?

It seems more than a little disingenuous for Avelo to claim that there’s genuine confusion among consumers as to whether the ad is coming from the airline or not. Like, obviously the ad isn’t from the airline.

Good on Miller for fighting back against this attack, because all too often our legal system is simply used as a way for big companies to bully individuals into compliance. Let the court decide on the merits of this.

Bottom line

Avelo Airlines made the decision to get into the deportation flight business. That’s the company’s right, though the public should also be allowed to object to it, if they’d like. One organization led by a blogger and politician took out billboards near New Haven Airport, to object to Avelo’s decision.

The company ended up threatening legal action, and the billboards were ultimately taken down. Now the person behind this is suing the airline, claiming that they’re trying to infringe on his First Amendment rights. I’m curious to see how this plays out.

Regardless of how someone feels about the ethics of the current deportation flight situation, we should all support reasonable free speech, in my opinion. Like, I’d feel the same if the politics were reversed.

What do you make of Avelo’s threats over these billboards?