London, UK – The UK Home Office has defended its decision to charter a private jet at an estimated cost of £1 million to deport 47 Albanian illegal migrants and convicted criminals, as Labour seeks to showcase its tough stance on illegal immigration.
The deportation flight, an Airbus A321 capable of carrying up to 220 passengers, departed last month as part of an ongoing effort to remove individuals with no right to remain in the UK. Footage released by the Home Office on Monday showed migrants being escorted onto the aircraft under high security, flanked by up to five security officers wearing body-worn cameras.
According to a Home Office impact assessment, the estimated cost of the flight equated to £22,000 per deportee, covering expenses such as security escorts, transportation, and monitoring during legal proceedings. Each individual was accompanied by three privately contracted security personnel to prevent disruptions during transit and upon arrival.
The move is part of Labour’s wider efforts to address illegal migration following concerns over public confidence in border security. Since taking office in July, the government claims to have deported nearly 19,000 individuals—the highest number recorded in a six-month period since 2017. Labour has sought to contrast its approach with that of the previous Conservative government, which spent £700 million on an abandoned scheme to deport a handful of asylum seekers to Rwanda.
A Labour spokesperson said, “Labour is getting a grip on a system that was totally out of control, returning almost 19,000 people since the election and strengthening Britain’s border security.”
The deportation of Albanians has been a particular focus, with 12,658 Albanian nationals having crossed the Channel in small boats in 2022. The UK has since established agreements with Albania to accelerate returns, with weekly deportation flights now in operation.
While the UK continues to use commercial charter flights for deportations, the approach contrasts with that of the US, where military aircraft are sometimes used for large-scale removals. In the US, deported migrants are often transported under armed guard, wearing shackles and waist restraints. The UK Home Office has maintained that it will use military aircraft only as a last resort, citing ongoing resistance from the Ministry of Defence.
Despite Labour’s efforts to project a strong stance, deportation flights remain a controversial issue. Airlines involved in previous removals have faced backlash from campaigners, including a high-profile flight to Jamaica in 2021 that left with only four passengers after last-minute legal interventions prevented others from being deported.
The latest figures show that three-quarters of those deported under Labour left voluntarily on commercial flights, with only a fraction of deportees having arrived in the UK via small boats. The government has also increased the number of charter flights, with 39 deportation flights taking place in the past six months, four more than the same period last year.
As Labour seeks to fend off electoral threats from Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, the government’s handling of immigration will remain a key issue ahead of the next general election.
Source: LIIE IMMIGRATION
