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The Pentagon has activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) program and asked six commercial airlines to supply passenger jets to assist with the evacuation efforts in Afghanistan. The Defense Department asked for a total of 18 planes, including four planes from United Airlines, three planes each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, and Omni Air, and two jets from Hawaiian Airlines.
The commercial planes would not have to fly into Afghanistan. Instead, they would be used to transport people who have already been evacuated and are currently waiting at military bases or other staging areas. The Pentagon said that will free up military aircraft to focus on evacuating people out of Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.
“CRAF activation provides the Department of Defense access to commercial air mobility resources to augment our support to the Department of State in the evacuation of U.S. citizens and personnel, Special Immigrant Visa applicants, and other at-risk individuals from Afghanistan,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement.
It is the third time that the CRAF has been activated. The 70-year-old program was first used from August 1990 to May 1991 during Operation Desert Storm. It was activated again during Operation Iraqi Freedom and ran from February 2002 through June 2003.
The U.S. military has evacuated about 28,000 people from Afghanistan since August 14, but there are still tens of thousands of people who are trying to leave the country.