ICE flights at Boeing Field lose ground service over deportations

A ban on deportation flights at Boeing Field may happen sooner than expected.

J

ust last week, King County Executive Dow Constantine issued an order to eventually phase out deportation flights from Seattle’s Boeing Field.

Now, all three companies that provide ground support at the airport say they won’t work with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flights either.

Mike Luigs heads Kenmore Aero Services. It’s one of the operators that provides service to the airport’s charter planes.

“The county is our landlord," he explains. "And the county’s leadership clearly feels strongly on this issue. It really wouldn’t be our place to contravene those intentions.”

Without any service on the ground, it’s unclear if the ICE flights can continue.

The agency has transported 34,000 immigrants through Boeing Field in the last decade, according to a recent report from the University of Washington Center for Human Rights.

That report also highlighted human rights concerns on those flights.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has denied those claims. We've reached out to them for additional comment.

This story will be updated.