Six US Airlines To Provide Planes For Afghan Evacuation

The Washington Post reports:

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has ordered the activation of a program that will use 18 commercial airplanes to aid the U.S. military evacuation of American nationals and refugees in Afghanistan. The activation of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet will provide the Defense Department with “access to commercial air mobility resources” in the evacuation efforts, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement Sunday.

The activation is for 18 aircraft: Three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air; two from Hawaiian Airlines; and four from United Airlines. The commercial planes will not fly into Kabul airport but instead be used “for the onward movement of passengers from temporary safe havens and interim staging bases,” the statement said.

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Biden set to update on evacuations; Pentagon orders commercial airlines to provide planes https://t.co/I02HcP5qnG

— Alejandro Domínguez (@AlexDominguezB) August 22, 2021