JPATS operates its flights out of Oklahoma City, Okla., with hubs in Alexandria, La.; Mesa, Ariz.; Anchorage, Alaska; York, Pa.; and the Virgin Islands, officials said. It's planes, however, travel to airports throughout the country.
The inmates or immigrants get on and off planes away from an airport's public terminals for greater security, Zinnert said.
Deportees wear civilian clothes and get to bring one checked bag home, weighing no more than 44 pounds, Gonzalez said.
They are restrained while on the flight, she said, and escorted by security personnel "for their safety, the safety of other detainees, law enforcement officers, and aircrews."
The government provides the deportees with food while on board, Zinnert said.
"It's not like a full meal," she said. "It might be a sandwich, cheese and crackers."
They also get water and fruit, though nothing messy or fruit that requires a knife or fork to peel, she said.
Each flight also comes with a nurse, to watch over inmates or immigrants with medical conditions. On at least one occasion, she said, a plane has had to land quickly because of a heart attack.
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