In 1995, the air fleets of the Marshals Service and the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement merged to create the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System (JPATS). The merger created a more efficient and effective system for transporting prisoners and criminal aliens.
Managed by the Marshals Service, Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System is one of the largest transporters of prisoners in the world - handling about 715 requests every day to move prisoners between judicial districts, correctional institutions and foreign countries.
On average, Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System completes over 260,000 prisoner/alien movements per year. A network of aircraft, cars, vans and buses accomplishes these coordinated movements. Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System operates a fleet of aircraft which moves prisoners over long distances more economically and with higher security than commercial airlines.
Nearly all air movements are done aboard large and small jets that Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System owns or leases. Ground transportation is usually provided by the Marshals Service and the Bureau of Prisons. Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System is the only government-operated, regularly scheduled passenger airline in the nation.
Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System routinely serves approximately 42 domestic and international cities, plus other major cities in the United States on an as-required basis. Detailed itineraries are required to ensure that each prisoner appears in court at a designated time. All scheduling is handled at Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System headquarters, located in Kansas City, Missouri. The Air fleet operations center is in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma with a hub in Las Vegas.
Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System Celebrates 30 Years of Owned Aircraft Operations
On August 20th, 2015, the Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System recognized a major milestone. Thirty years prior, the then-National Prisoner Transfer Service executed its first movement on aircraft solely owned and operated by the U.S. Marshals Service.
The Boeing 727, piloted by Jerry Hurd, Bill Ardies and Mark Landol made stops in Denver, Salt Lake City, Sacramento, Vandenburg AFB, and San Diego, ending the day in Tucson. The remembrance mission shown above, was celebrated at the end of a normal Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System mission, flown by senior pilots Assistant Chief Riley Finley and Jeff Winans.
Justice Prisoner and Alien Transportation System has flown over 70,000 hours of large aircraft activity with no significant incidents or accidents.