Global Crossing Airlines
{{Short description|Charter airline of the United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox airline
|airline = Global Crossing Airlines
|logo = Global_Crossing_Airlines_Logo,_August_2021.svg
|logo_size = 300
|fleet_size = 19
| traded_as = {{NEO|JET}}
|destinations =
| ISIN = US37960G4010
|parent =
|founded = {{start date and age|2018|09|05}}
|commenced = {{start date and age|2021|08|07}}
|headquarters = Miami, Florida, United States
|key_people = {{unbulleted list
|{{nowrap|Chris Jamroz (Executive Chairman)}}
|Ryan Goepel (President & CFO)}}
| bases = {{unbulleted list
|Mesa
}}
|secondary_hubs =
|focus_cities =
|frequent_flyer =
|alliance =
|website = {{URL|www.globalairlinesgroup.com}}
}}
Global Crossing Airlines, Inc. (operating as GlobalX Airlines) is an American Part 121 domestic, flag, and supplemental charter airline headquartered in Miami, Florida. GlobalX operates the majority of deportation flights on behalf of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.{{cite news |title=Airline at center of Brazil fiasco key to Trump's deportations |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/airline-at-center-of-brazil-fiasco-key-to-trump-s-deportations/ar-AA1yf85B?ocid=EMMX&apiversion=v2&noservercache=1&domshim=1&renderwebcomponents=1&wcseo=1&batchservertelemetry=1&noservertelemetry=1 |accessdate=February 3, 2025 |publisher=MSN}}{{Cite web |last=Funk |first=McKenzie |date=April 1, 2025 |title=Inside ICE Air: Flight Attendants on Deportation Planes Say Disaster Is “Only a Matter of Time” |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ice-air-deportation-flights |website=ProPublica |language=en}} This includes contracts by the Donald Trump administration in deporting immigrants to an El Salvador maximum security mega-prison known as CECOT.
The airline was founded in 2018 by Ed Wegel, who previously co-founded the reincarnated Eastern Air Lines. The airline provides ad-hoc and scheduled passenger charter and cargo airlift to destinations throughout the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, and Latin America.
History
In 2020, GlobalX completed a merger & spin-out with Canada Jetlines, an ultra low-cost airline headquartered in Mississauga, Ontario.{{cite web|url=https://skiesmag.com/press-releases/global-crossing-airlines-appoints-new-president-of-canada-jetlines-affiliate/|title=Global Crossing Airlines appoints new president of Canada Jetlines affiliate|website=Skies Mag|date=December 14, 2020|access-date=December 14, 2020|archive-date=November 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211103005855/https://skiesmag.com/press-releases/global-crossing-airlines-appoints-new-president-of-canada-jetlines-affiliate/|url-status=live}} In late 2020, GlobalX formed CubaX, a tour operator that provides weekly non-stop flights from Miami to Havana, Cuba.{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/now/global-crossing-airlines-launches-first-140000907.html|title=Global Crossing Airlines Launches Its First Tour Operator, CubaX|website=Yahoo|access-date=December 15, 2020}} In 2021, CubaX began operating daily charter flights using GlobalX aircraft on behalf of Havana Air.
On January 14, 2025, GlobalX announced an electronic interline agreement with United Airlines{{cite web|title=Global Crossing Airlines and United Airlines Collaborate Through Airblox for Seamless Cargo Transportation Between San Juan and Chicago|url=https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2025/01/14/3009192/0/en/Global-Crossing-Airlines-and-United-Airlines-Collaborate-Through-Airblox-for-Seamless-Cargo-Transportation-Between-San-Juan-and-Chicago.html|date=January 14, 2025|access-date=April 19, 2025}} regarding cargo space on their Chicago - San Juan route through the online platform Airblox.
= Deportations =
{{main|Deportation in the second presidency of Donald Trump}}
In January 2025, a flight operated by GlobalX transporting shackled deported migrants from the United States to Brazil experienced repeated technical problems, including struggles to take off, broken air conditioning, and an unscheduled landing due to technical issues. The conditions on the flight led to diplomatic tensions between the United States and Brazil, with Brazilian government ministers describing the handling of the deportees on the flight as "unacceptable" and "degrading".{{cite news |title=U.S.-Brazil Deportations Spark Diplomatic Tensions |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/world/americas/us-brazil-deportations.html |publisher=The New York Times |date=January 28, 2025 |accessdate=February 3, 2025}}
On March 15, 2025, three GlobalX flights, aircraft tail numbers [https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n278gx N278GX], [https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n837va N837VA], and [https://www.flightradar24.com/data/aircraft/n630va N630VA], were used to transport Venezuelan nationals being held at El Valle Detention Center in South Texas. The deportation flights traveled from Harlingen, Texas to El Salvador (via Honduras) where the prisoners were transferred to Salvadoran custody and imprisonment.{{Cite news |last=Satter |first=Raphael |last2=Hesson |first2=Ted |last3=Shepardson |first3=David |date=March 17, 2025 |title=Flight data shows timeline of the Venezuelan deportation operation |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/flight-data-shows-timeline-venezuelan-deportation-operation-2025-03-17/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250319152018/https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/flight-data-shows-timeline-venezuelan-deportation-operation-2025-03-17/ |archive-date=March 19, 2025 |access-date=March 17, 2025 |work=Reuters}}
An investigative article by ProPublica, published April 1, 2025, reported concerns for passenger safety by flight attendants on GlobalX detainee flights chartered by Immigration Customs and Enforcement (ICE).{{Cite web |last=Funk |first=McKenzie |title=Flight attendants on deportation planes voice concerns|work= The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/04/03/nation/inside-ice-air-deportation-flights/ |access-date=April 5, 2025 |language=en-US}} The attendants were concerned about how they would be able to evacuate aircraft in the event of an emergency given that the passengers were handcuffed and shackled.{{Cite web |last=Funk |first=McKenzie |date=April 1, 2025 |title=Inside ICE Air: Flight Attendants on Deportation Planes Say Disaster Is “Only a Matter of Time” |url=https://www.propublica.org/article/inside-ice-air-deportation-flights |access-date=April 1, 2025 |website=ProPublica |language=en}}
On April 16, GlobalX's executive chairman, Chris Jamroz resigned from the board of directors of the Royal Ontario Museum after his links to the deportation flights were reported on by Canadian independent journalist Rachel Gilmore.{{Cite news |last=Fawcett-Atkinson |first=Marc |date=April 16, 2025 |title=Royal Ontario Museum board director steps down after links to deportation flights surface |url=https://www.nationalobserver.com/2025/04/16/news/christopher-jamroz-royal-ontario-museum-globalx-deportation-flights |access-date=April 17, 2025 |work=National Observer}}
On May 5, 404 Media reported that the airline's computer systems had been hacked and its website defaced by the hacker group Anonymous. The individuals claiming to be the hackers provided 404 Media with flight records and passenger manifests from January 19 through May 1, 2025, and 404 Media reported that the data matched other publicly-available records. The hackers claimed that they accessed an Amazon Web Services account belonging to the airline, with 404 Media reporting that "The hacker told 404 Media they managed to find a token belonging to a GlobalX developer. They then used that to find access and secret keys for GlobalX’s AWS instances which contained the data."{{cite news |last1=Cox |first1=Joseph |last2=Koebler |first2=Jason |title=GlobalX, Airline for Trump’s Deportations, Hacked |url=https://www.404media.co/globalx-airline-for-trumps-deportations-hacked/ |access-date=May 5, 2025 |work=404 Media |date=May 5, 2025 }}
Fleet
=Current fleet=
File:N284GX - KHPN - 11-10-23.jpg at Westchester County Airport in 2023]]
As of May 2025, GlobalX operates the following aircraft:{{cite web|url=https://globalairlinesgroup.com/charter_fleet.html|title=GlobalX Charters - Fleet|website=Global Crossing Airlines|access-date=April 29, 2022|archive-date=September 25, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220925122846/https://globalairlinesgroup.com/charter_fleet.html|url-status=live}}
| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em auto; text-align:center"
|+ GlobalX fleet |
| rowspan=2|Aircraft
!rowspan=2|In !rowspan=2|Orders !colspan=4|Passengers !rowspan=2|Notes |
|---|
| B
!P !E !Total |
| Airbus A319-100
|1 |— |60 |– |– |60 | |
| rowspan=5|Airbus A320-200
|rowspan=5|10 |rowspan=5|— |68 |– |– |68 |rowspan=5| |
| 12
|24 |114 |150 |
| –
|– |179 |179 |
| –
|– |180 |180 |
| –
|24 |156 |180 |
| rowspan=3|Airbus A321-200
|rowspan=3|4 |rowspan=3|– |12 |22 |149 |183 |rowspan=3| |
| –
|– |200 |200 |
| –
|– |210 |210 |
| colspan=8|XCargo fleet |
| Airbus A321-200P2F
|4 |– |colspan=4|Cargo |
| Total
!19 !— !colspan=5| |
See also
References
{{reflist}}
Further reading
- {{Cite news |last=Fenno |first=Nathan |last2=Kessler |first2=Carson |date=June 12, 2025 |title=ICE’s go-to charter airline for deportations also flew NCAA teams, Inter Miami and more |url=https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6416337/2025/06/12/ice-ncaa-globalx-deportation/ |access-date=June 17, 2025 |work=The Athletic |language=en-US}}
{{Airlines of the United States}}
Category:Charter airlines of the United States
Category:Airlines established in 2018