LONDON — A charter airline contracted by the British government to transport asylum seekers to Rwanda has pulled out of the deal following outside pressure, another blow to Britain’s hard-line immigration plan to send asylum seekers to the small African nation.
The British deal with Rwanda came as Western nations are taking tougher stands against accepting refugees, and as thousands of people have crossed the English Channel in small boats this year seeking asylum. Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame, is aiming to position his country as a solution to the migrant crisis, though critics see the country as trying to benefit financially from the arrangement.
Under the deal, Britain would pay 120 million pounds, or $135 million, to Rwanda to finance opportunities for the migrants, including education, job skills and language training. Those who are granted asylum would not be able to return to Britain, and would remain in Rwanda.
Privilege Style, the Spanish charter airline that pulled out of the arrangement, operated a deportation flight in June that became the center of a legal and media firestorm and was halted after the European Court of Human Rights intervened. It was the first and so far only attempted flight as part of Britain’s agreement with Rwanda.
In a letter that the charter airline sent to a British charity that opposes the flights, Privilege Style said it would “not operate flights to Rwanda in the future.” The letter, which was seen by The New York Times on Friday, added that the charter company had not flown to Rwanda “since the one flight scheduled for June 2022, which is the reason for this controversy, was suspended.”
The company’s withdrawal from the arrangement was first reported by The Guardian on Friday. The company would not disclose to The Times how much its contract was worth.
A spokesperson for Britain’s Home Office said it would “not comment on operational matters” when asked how it now intended to transport asylum seekers to Rwanda and whether any other charter airlines were being contracted for the flights.
The company’s pullout could present a potentially insurmountable hurdle to a plan that has so far failed to send a single asylum seeker to Rwanda amid continuing legal battles. Charter airlines that have conducted deportation flights in the past to other countries have already distanced themselves from the plan.
Boris Johnson, Britain’s former prime minister, previously said that “tens of thousands” of migrants would be sent to Rwanda.
Opponents of the policy praised the airline’s decision to scrap the flights.
“The pullout by Privilege Style is a cautionary tale for any other aviation company that even considers getting into bed with the British government on a scheme like this,” said Sonya Sceats, the chief executive of Freedom From Torture, a British charity that led the campaign to get the airline to withdraw from the effort. “Any company that wants to go down this route again now knows that it will come at an incredible cost to their brand.”
Liz Truss, who resigned as prime minister on Thursday, had remained steadfast throughout her six weeks in power regarding her support for the migrant plan. The current favorites to replace her — Rishi Sunak, Mr. Johnson and Penny Mordaunt — have taken similarly tough stances on immigration issues.
“Any incoming prime minister who thinks that they’re going to get this scheme off the ground is delusional,” Ms. Sceats said. “I think this is a real moment for the Conservative Party leadership, whoever takes on that mantle, to reflect on whether it’s really worth it.”
The British government has been warned repeatedly by its own advisers that sending asylum seekers to Rwanda might not be a sensible policy because of concerns about Rwanda’s human rights record.
In a statement, a Home Office spokesperson said the government remained “committed” to the plan. “Rwanda is a safe and secure country with a strong track record of supporting asylum seekers, and we will continue to robustly defend the partnership in the courts,” the statement added.
