The Trump administration has begun deploying military aircraft to emphasize its commitment to deporting undocumented migrants.
While the move makes for striking political optics, it comes at a significant financial cost. According to an AFP analysis, a recent deportation flight to India cost as much as $1 million (Rs 8.74 crore).
Military flights can be more than three times as expensive as civilian charters, data reveals.
President Donald Trump was elected on the promise of executing the largest deportation effort in American history. While most migrants facing deportation are from Latin America, some are being sent back across much greater distances.
On Wednesday, a U.S. Air Force cargo plane landed in Amritsar, carrying 104 Indian nationals who had entered the United States illegally, according to a government statement. This flight is believed to be the first instance of military aircraft being used to deport individuals to India.
AFP photographs confirm that the aircraft used was a C-17A Globemaster III, a large military transport plane designed for moving troops, vehicles, and supplies. A key asset of the U.S. Air Force since 1995, the Globemaster has been deployed extensively in military operations worldwide.
However, military flights are significantly more expensive than the charter flights Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) typically uses for deportations.
ICE data from 2021 indicates that charter flights cost approximately $8,577 per flight hour, though expenses increase when transporting high-risk individuals. In contrast, the U.S. Air Mobility Command reports that C-17 operations cost $28,562 per hour—more than three times the rate of charter flights.
Military aircraft also follow different flight paths than commercial planes due to airspace restrictions in foreign countries. Additionally, they refuel at military air bases instead of commercial hubs, further adding to operational costs.
Flight tracking data from Flightradar24 shows that the deportation flight departed from Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego, California, at 13:30 GMT on Monday. It then traveled west to Hawaii, crossed the Pacific Ocean to the Luzon Strait near the Philippines, flew between Indonesia and Malaysia, and took a long detour south into the Indian Ocean, stopping at a U.S. air base on Diego Garcia.
From there, the aircraft continued thousands of miles north, finally arriving in Amritsar on Wednesday afternoon, local time—over 43 hours after leaving California.
Considering the return flight to a U.S. air base, the total cost likely exceeded $1 million, even with conservative estimates of airborne time. This translates to more than $10,000 per deportee.
In stark contrast, a one-way commercial flight from San Francisco to New Delhi costs around $500 in economy class or $4,000 in business class.
