Barletta Says Ghost Flight Landed at Lehigh Valley Airport

Pennsylvania gubernatorial hopeful Lou Barletta says a ghost flight from El Paso, TX, recently arrived at Lehigh Valley International Airport.

This is in addition to claims by US Rep. Dan Meuser recently that similar ghost flights arrived at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport. These flights are carrying illegal immigrants, including unaccompanied children.

Gov. Tom Wolf has finally addressed these flights after whistleblowers at WBS airport reported their arrival, including a pair of flights on Christmas night.

Barletta Says Ghost Flight Arrived at Lehigh Valley Airport

Barletta says he received a tip about a charter flight arriving at ABE (Lehigh Valley International) from ELP (El Paso, TX) on Dec. 30. The carrier, World Atlantic Airlines, he says is a company that’s known to traffic migrants to different parts of the country.

In a statement, Barletta attached a screen shot of a flight docket showing this flight arriving in Allentown at 5:14 p.m. on Dec. 30.

Image via Lou Barletta campaign

“The incredible secrecy and disregard for Pennsylvanians continues,” Barletta says in a statement. “First, we had to discover for ourselves that illegal immigrants were being shipped into Northeast Pennsylvania on at least four flights. But then when people demanded information, the flights were shifted to the Lehigh Valley and they just hoped no one would notice. While the Biden administration is playing games with the safety of Pennsylvanians, Gov. Tom Wolf and Attorney General Josh Shapiro are just throwing up their hands and saying it’s not their problem.”

Wolf has previously said these flights arriving in Pennsylvania were destined elsewhere and the airports are transfer points. Barletta pressed Wolf and his potential opponent in the November General Election, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro, about their role in these flights arriving.

In a report from The Times-Leader, Wolf’s office criticized Barletta for not understanding how immigration works and that the state has no role in migrants being transported around the country.

Barletta is one of many Republicans vying for the Governor’s office in the 2022 election. He announced his bid last summer.

In his statement issued a few days ago, Barletta says, “This is a flippant and childish response that shows blind trust in an incompetent and uncaring Biden administration, and doesn’t explain whether Tom Wolf and Josh Shapiro knew these flights were happening and kept them secret. Obviously, the federal government is tasked with immigration enforcement, but the governor and attorney general are responsible for keeping Pennsylvanians safe and informed.”

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