Spanish charter airline Privilege Style is under fire for agreeing to fly refugees to a new UK offshore processing center in Rwanda. The airline is due to fly its first planeload of refugees out of the UK on Tuesday evening. And while the unlucky passengers aren't getting much love from the UK Government, they do have plenty of supporters who are doing their best to name and shame the parties involved in the sordid business, including Privilege Style.

Online fury directed at airline flying out UK refugees

The under-siege airline hasn't positioned its plane in the UK yet (at the time of writing). The BBC reports that the aircraft to be used is a Boeing 767-300 (registration EC-LZO) currently in Düsseldorf. Other unconfirmed reports suggest Privilege Style will use an Airbus A321-200 (registration EC-NLJ) to fly the handful of refugees out.

One flight trashes an airline brand

Whichever plane they use, Privilege Style is offering a masterclass in bad corporate decision-making and trashing an airline brand. Privilege Style has gone to ground and disabled their social media accounts. But the online fury is threatening to spill over and tarnish other aviation industry companies who do business with Privilege Style, including travel group TUI UK.

"Hi @TuiUK: it appears you charter planes from Privilege Style which @ukhomeoffice is using to deport desperate asylum seekers to Rwanda," said one person on social media. "Do you plan to continue to use Privilege Style?"

Spillover effects on companies doing business with Privilege Style

And it's not just TUI UK feeling the heat. Online activists are unearthing the names of airlines and other organizations that do business with Privilege Style and calling them out. Privilege Style does brisk business with Spanish football clubs, including Sevilla FC and Atletico de Madrid. And Tuesday isn't the first time Privilege Style has accepted money from the UK Government to transport refugees. In December 2020, Privilege Style operated a deportation flight from the UK to Jamaica. Last year, the airline twice flew deported Afghani refugees out of Germany.

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According to the UK lobby group Corporate Watch, Privilege Style has helped several European countries deport refugees to Afghanistan and has also flown people to Nigeria shackled in leg chains. The UK Government's Rwanda policy is particularly contentious (although other countries also process refuge claims in offshore detention centers), and Privilege Style is in the spotlight.

Other airlines make money forcibly flying refugees

But Privilege Style isn't the only airline earning a quid operating what critics call government-funded human trafficking flights. Hi Fly, Titan Airways, Evelop, TUI, Air Tanker, and the Home Office's travel booker Carlson Wagonlit Travel have all been involved in UK deportation flights over the last two years. Privilege Style is simply the latest airline to join this conga line of shame.

Carlson Wagonlit Travel is a US-based travel and event business multinational company that looks after the travel accounts of many well-known brands and companies. There are lots of pretty shiny companies with slick statements about ethics and tip-top corporate behavior who make money out of forcible deportations and transportation.

The Privilege Style flight is still 24 hours away and is expected to have less than ten refugees onboard. The airline will no doubt bank a handsome check for the flight, but the costs to the business may be substantially more in the long run.