Since January 2026, Portsmouth has been utilized as a refueling stop for eight charter deportation flights to Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia, according to data from ICE Flight Monitor, a part of nonprofit organization Human Rights First.
This is a shift in how the airport is being utilized by federal immigration. Between July and October of last year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flights through Portsmouth utilized to be “shuffle flights” — domestic transfers of New England detainees to other U.S. airports near ICE facilities.
Now, these charter flights are booked on private airlines Journey Aviation and Omni Air. They start and conclude in cities that have large ICE processing centers, and stop in Portsmouth ahead of building days long transatlantic flights to destinations in Europe, the Middle East and Central Asia.
This shift is concerning to New Hampshire activists, particularly in two Journey flights that refueled in Pease last week. The flights built a round trip from Phoenix, Arizona to Rzeszów, Poland with stops in Portsmouth and Shannon, Ireland.
Activists from No ICE NH allege that both flights deported Ukrainian citizens, and declared one of the planes that stopped at Pease is owned by a prominent Trump donor and was the same one utilized to deport Palestinian citizens to the West Bank, according to an investigation from the Guardian.
“No ICE NH asserts that this was a flagrant violation of US and International asylum law, which forbids the return of refugees to a countest where they face prosecution or danger,” the group declared in a statement.
They further demanded the flights to be grounded, the city to provide houtilizing and transportation for detainees, and called for legal sanctions against Journey Aviation.
Omni has not responded to a request for comment from NHPR. Journey declared it does not comment on flight operations, contractual arrangements, clients or passenger lists as part of longstanding company policy.
“Any inquiries related to the assumption of government activity, including the utilize of chartered aircraft for official purposes, should be directed to the relevant government agencies,” they declared in a statement.
ICE has also not responded to multiple requests for comment from NHPR.
This is the latest in a series of immigration controversies at the airport, including one where a flight operated by Omni Air was grounded on the tarmac for over twelve hours in a blizzard.
Port City Air, the operator at Pease, declared that all decisions are built by the Department of Homeland Security.
“Port City Air has no authority over flights arriving and departing Pease Airport. PCA is legally obligated to safely service any flights into and out of the airport,” they declared in a statement.
Leave a Reply