Trump Admin's Use Of Military Flights To Deport Migrants Is Much More Expensive Than Civilian Planes, Report Shows

President Trump campaigned on mass deportations and cutting government spending, but his use of military aircraft for deportations does the exact opposite.

Maria Villaroel Maria Villarroel / Published Feb 13 2025, 2:11 PM EST

The Donald Trump administration's use of military planes to ship deportees off the U.S. has a much higher cost than civilian aircraft, a new investigation shows.

According to the recent Wall Street Journal analysis, using military planes, like the C-17 Globemaster III, costs the government around $28,500 per flight hour, while holding roughly only 80 migrants. Meanwhile, flights that use commercial planes like the Airbus A320, costs roughly $17,000 per flight hour while holding around 135 migrants.

However, there are other costs that increase the price tag of military aircrafts even more. The C-17 planes don't use Mexico's airspace, increasing the time of flight of each trip. That is because Mexico requires diplomatic clearance at least seven days in advance for each such flight, an unnamed defense official told The Wall Street Journal.

To illustrate the cost difference, the Journal looks at a deportation flight from El Paso to Guatemala City that took place on Jan. 24.

In a civilian aircraft, the flight lasts 3 hours and 17 minutes, carrying 105 migrants and costing the government approximately $55,000. Meanwhile, with the military aircraft, the flight lasted 5 hours and 49 minutes, carrying only 80 migrants, but costing the government around $166,000 in flight time. The total costs double given the fact that those planes also make a return flight to the U.S.

More:
https://www.latintimes.com/trump-admins-use-military-flights-deport-migrants-much-more-expensive-civilian-planes-report-575544