Air Force C-17s Conduct First Deportation Flights, Two Not Allowed to Land

Two U.S. Air Force C-17 flights carrying out deportation missions turned around after being denied diplomatic clearance to land in Colombia, U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine on Jan. 26.

The C-17s were deporting people detained by immigration agencies. They took off from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, Calif., on the evening of Jan. 25 local time heading towards Bogota, Colombia. The first flight, whose callsign was Reach 538, got as far as the Gulf Coast near Texas before it turned around, stopping in Houston. The other C-17, whose callsign was Reach 539, took off a few hours later and returned shortly to base after its departure, flight tracking data shows. U.S. officials confirmed the diversions.

“I deny the entry of American planes carrying Colombian migrants into our territory,” Colombia’s president Gustavo Petro posted on the social media site X. “The United States must establish a protocol for the dignified treatment of migrants before we receive them.”

The U.S. initially had approval from the Colombian government to conduct the deportation flights, but the permission was later revoked, U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine.

“It is the responsibility of each nation to take back their citizens who are illegally present in the United States in a serious and expeditious manner,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement. “Colombian President Petro had authorized flights and provided all needed authorizations and then canceled his authorization when the planes were in the air.”

The U.S. Air Force began deportation flights of people held in detention by Customs and Border Protection, U.S. officials said on Jan. 24, in a move ordered by President Donald Trump as part of a sweeping promise to crack down on illegal immigration and more tightly police the southern border.

One C-17 took off from Biggs Army Air Field, Texas, and another C-17 took off from Tucson, Ariz., on the evening of Jan. 23, a defense official said. The aircraft headed to Guatemala in Central America, two defense officials added.

“President Trump is sending a strong and clear message to the entire world: if you illegally enter the United States of America, you will face severe consequences,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a post on social media.

The Pentagon has ordered 1,500 Active-Duty troops to the southern border to join 2,500 troops already based there. The goal is to take “complete operational control of the southern border of the United States,” then-Acting Secretary of Defense Robert Salesses said in a Jan. 23 statement.

“This is just the beginning,” Salesses said at the time.

The Trump administration plans to use the Air Force to deport some 5,400 people detained by Customs and Border Protection using C-17s and C-130s, the Pentagon said Jan. 23. The Pentagon said that the Department of Homeland Security would provide “inflight law enforcement,” not military personnel. A senior military official told reporters roughly 100 Air Force personnel would be involved in the missions, from aircrew to maintainers.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement flights carrying detained migrants are common occurrences, often referred to as “removal flights” by ICE. Prior to this, however, officials used civil or commercial aircraft. Roughly 80 people were aboard each C-17, U.S. officials said.

U.S. officials told Air & Space Forces Magazine that future flights are still being worked out as the planes need diplomatic clearance to land and destination countries must be willing to accept the migrants.

In a social media post, Trump said he ordered “urgent and decisive retaliatory measures” against Colombia, including tariffs, visa bans on government officials, and sanctions.