The Denver City Council rejected a contract with Colorado-based airline Key Lime Air on Monday over the company’s work helping carry out President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation efforts.
The denial won’t affect the company’s ability to fly in and out of Centennial Airport in the south suburbs, however, or to continue its work for the federal government.
The rejected contract would have allowed Key Lime Air, which has operated charter services in Colorado since at least 2006, to use 1,200 square feet of storage space at Denver International Airport, said airport spokesman George Karayiannakis.
Key Lime flies passenger flights only out of Centennial, but the company owns another airline called Denver Air Connection that operates out of DIA. Key Lime also provides cargo feeder services to UPS at Denver’s airport, for which it was seeking to lease the space.
Eleven of the council’s 13 members voted against the contract.
“It may seem like any other business decision … but it’s just not. We know that people are being deported without due process,” Councilwoman Jamie Torres said in explaining her “no” vote.
The CEO of Key Lime Air, Cliff Honeycutt, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the council vote Monday night. The value of the rejected lease for DIA was not clear, since it was based on the airport’s standard lease rates and charges.
“As a matter of policy, we are unable to discuss our charter operations,” Honeycutt said in a statement to the Daily Camera earlier this month. “Our focus remains on conducting ALL Key Lime Air flights in accordance with the highest federally mandated safety standards.”
Councilman Kevin Flynn cast the sole “yes” vote; Councilman Chris Hinds, who appeared remotely for the meeting, was absent for that vote. Flynn said he was also appalled by the deportation efforts but added that rejecting the contract wouldn’t help the city.
“If we vote it down, the consequence is only that they have to store (equipment) in the common use area,” he said. “So voting it down means they won’t be paying us, they’ll be using it for free.”
Colorado Newsline first reported that Key Lime Air was transporting detainees for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in October. Since then, the company has been the focus of protests at the airport and at the University of Colorado Boulder, which has a contract with the airline to fly its sports teams to away games.
When asked whether the school would cancel its contract with the company — currently set to last through 2029 — a CU spokesman told the Daily Camera only that the school uses a competitive bidding process when selecting air charters. Spokesman Steve Hurlbert said the university doesn’t ask its contractors to provide a list of other business relationships.
Key Lime Air operated 83 flights across the country for ICE in September, Colorado Newsline reported. More than 115 deportation flights have departed from Denver this year, according to Colorado Public Radio.
Several council members spoke against the DIA contract Monday, specifically calling out the company’s association with ICE.
“I have to sign these deals when we’re done … I will not have my name ‘Amanda Sandoval’ on a Key Lime thing,” said Council President Amanda Sandoval. “I feel very, very, very adamant about that.”
Councilman Darrell Watson said he believes the deportations ICE is carrying out are illegal and that his district wouldn’t support the contract.
“They are not supportive of any action that could even provide any credence to the administration and these illegal raids on our communities,” he said.
Trump initiated a nationwide immigration crackdown when he entered office for his second term earlier this year. Those efforts have included hundreds of thousands of deportations. Lawyers, politicians and activists have criticized the process as illegal and lacking due process, and a judge last month ordered ICE agents in the state to follow restrictions in the law in making immigration arrests.
Monday’s vote could put DIA at risk of losing out on $90 million in annual grants from the Federal Aviation Administration, said Councilwoman Sarah Parady. Under that grant, the city isn’t allowed to treat airlines differently.
Still, she said, “that’s a large number that’s coming out of an extremely healthy airport budget.”
The airport’s budget is kept separate from the rest of the city’s finances. It relies on self-generated revenue from fees and other income, including from airlines and passengers.
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