In a significant development, the first flight of 2026 under the UK’s “one in, one out” asylum scheme, intended to return asylum seekers who arrived in the country on small boats to France, has been cancelled. The Guardian has learned that detainees earmarked for this deportation flight, scheduled for Wednesday morning to Paris, were informed that their tickets had been cancelled.
One of the affected individuals, who had been among a group of 80 people arriving by boat, with 10 of them detained and 70 taken to hotels as their asylum claims are processed in the UK, expressed frustration at the perceived unfairness of the situation. “That’s not fair. I was delighted when our tickets were cancelled, but the guards would not tell us the reason. When I asked a guard, he said: ‘We can’t tell you why,'” the person said.
This is believed to be the first time a “one in, one out” Home Office deportation charter flight to Paris has been cancelled, though it is not thought to be due to a legal challenge. The cancellation follows the circulation of a report on Monday, compiled by 80 “one in, one out” detainees held at the Harmondsworth immigration removal centre near Heathrow Airport, in preparation for forced removal to France.
The report highlights concerns from the detainees that while the majority of those arriving on small boats are having their claims processed in the UK, a minority have been detained and issued with removal directions for France. The men consider their detention to be “arbitrary and discriminatory,” stating, “We are not criminals. We are people who fled war, persecution, and injustice. We came to the UK believing in human rights, freedom, and protection. Instead, we are detained, isolated, and silenced.”
When the Home Office cancels a deportation charter flight shortly before the plane is due to be used, they may have to pay compensation of tens of thousands of pounds to the company that leased the plane. However, the specific arrangements for the UK-to-France deportation charters are not known. According to sources involved in Home Office deportations, the average cost of a deportation charter flight is around £250,000.
A Home Office spokesperson declined to comment on operational matters, stating that it is a long-standing government policy.