Some 43 migrants with no legal right to stay in the UK have been returned to Nigeria and Ghana, the Home Office said.
A charter flight included 15 refused asylum seekers, 11 foreign criminals who had served their sentences and seven who returned to the African nations voluntarily.
The move comes as part of Government plans to “restore order” in the immigration system.
In February, the Home Office released footage of migrants being escorted onto planes and deported for the first time, as Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said immigration rules needed to be “respected and enforced”.
According to the Home Office, between July 5 last year and March 22 this year, 24,103 people have been returned either voluntarily or by force.
This is an 11% increase on 21,807 returned in provisional figures in the same period 12 months before.
Some 3,594 foreign criminals have been deported since July, the Home Office added, a rise of 16% on the previous 12-month period.
The latest charter flight is the second to return people to Nigeria and Ghana, bringing the total to 87, under the current Government.
Border security minister Dame Angela Eagle said: “This flight demonstrates how international partnerships deliver on working people’s priorities for swift returns and secure borders.
“Through the plan for change we’re going further in restoring order to a broken system, accelerating returns of those with no right to be here and closing expensive asylum hotels.
“I thank the governments of Ghana and Nigeria for facilitating this operation, which reflects our joint commitment to disrupt organised immigration crime and protect our borders.”
The announcement also follows Home Office plans to release data on nationalities of foreign criminals and their offences by the end of the year.
Ministers have ordered improvements to be made to the data on foreign national offenders in a bid to increase transparency on the issue.
Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick welcomed the move, saying that the “public deserved to know this long ago”, but human rights group Amnesty International warned publishing the data is a “reckless move” that risks fuelling racial division and spreading misinformation.
Nigeria and Ghana were among the 40 countries that attended the Government’s Organised Immigration Summit earlier this month, as ministers bid to work internationally to tackle people smuggling gangs.
International development minister Baroness Chapman added: “Working with other countries and partners around the world is critical to tackling irregular migration – by working internationally, we will meet this global challenge together.”
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