{"id":110251,"date":"2025-08-30T15:44:04","date_gmt":"2025-08-30T10:14:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/?p=110251"},"modified":"2025-08-30T15:44:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-30T10:14:09","slug":"record-deportation-flights-as-airlines-hide-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviationa2z.com\/index.php\/2025\/08\/30\/record-deportation-flights-as-airlines-hide-data\/","title":{"rendered":"US Deportation Flights at Record High as Airlines Hide Data Under FAA Secrecy Rules"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SEATTLE-<\/strong> Immigration rights advocates continue to monitor deportation flights departing from King County International Airport (BFI), also known as Boeing Field, even as airlines increase efforts to conceal aircraft movements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carriers like GlobalX (GXA), Eastern Air Express (EEA)<\/a>, and Avelo Airlines (QX)<\/a> play a key role in transporting detainees under US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observers report that deportation flights have reached record highs while airlines adopt new strategies to hide flight data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tracking once done through public websites now requires alternative methods, as planes frequently use dummy call signs and blocked tail numbers, leaving families and advocacy groups searching for other ways to follow these flights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: JFK Spotting<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Deportation Flights Record High<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Immigration monitors state that carriers contracted by ICE are increasingly using the Federal Aviation Administration\u2019s (FAA)<\/a> Limiting Aircraft Data Displayed (LADD) program to shield flights from public view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This allows airlines to block tail numbers, making aircraft appear as \u201cNot Available\u201d on flight tracking platforms such as FlightRadar24 and FlightAware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reported by KUOW<\/a>, this practice represents a significant shift, as blocking was previously used sparingly, often during sensitive government operations like presidential campaign travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tom Cartwright, a retired financial executive turned immigration advocate, documented 1,214 deportation-related flights in July, the highest since January 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Three carriers\u2014GlobalX<\/a>, Eastern Air Express, and Avelo Airlines, operate 80% of these flights, his records show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The flights typically transport immigrants either directly to border points or to larger airports where international transfers occur, mainly to Mexico and Central America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: GlobalX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Scale of Operations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

From the beginning of 2025 through July, Cartwright recorded 5,962 deportation flights, reflecting a 41% increase compared to the same period in 2024. These figures include 68 military-operated flights, many directed to Guant\u00e1namo Bay, Cuba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cartwright\u2019s work, later assumed by Human Rights First under its \u201cICE Flight Monitor\u201d project, underscores how citizen-led accountability sheds light on government operations otherwise hidden from public view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Washington state, the nonprofit group La Resistencia tracked 59 flights from Boeing Field and five from Yakima Air Terminal (YKM) in 2025, exceeding their 2024 total of 42. Of these, not all flights were deportations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many served to transfer detainees between immigration detention centers or move them toward US-Mexico border states. Records show 1,023 immigrants flown into Boeing Field for transfer to the Tacoma ICE detention facility, while 2,279 were flown out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Eastern Airlines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Surveillance and Documentation Efforts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Boeing Field is one of the few airports where advocates can directly observe ICE flight operations, largely due to cameras installed by King County in 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These cameras, mandated after attempts to halt ICE flights failed, stream live footage of detainees arriving in buses, undergoing searches, and boarding planes under heavy restraints.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advocates describe passengers navigating stairways while shackled at the wrists, waist, and ankles, with visible physical strain in some cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Volunteers gather on-site during arrivals and departures, counting passengers and documenting conditions. These records, often livestreamed on the county\u2019s website, provide rare transparency into otherwise obscured federal deportation procedures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Diego Delso \nCopyright: CC-BY-SA 3.0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n