The Defense Department announced Sunday that Lloyd Austin, U.S. Defense Secretary, has directed U.S. commercial airlines and other agencies to fly to Afghanistan to speed up the evacuation of troops.
The Defense Department activated Civil Reserve Air Fleet. This nearly 70-year-old program was created in the aftermath of the Berlin airlift to provide backup for commercial air carriers in case of a "major national defence emergency." This is the third activation of the CRAF. It was previously activated in the 1990s and 2000s, during the wars in Iraq.
The activation applies to 18 aircraft: three from American Airlines and Omni Air; two each from Hawaiian Airlines and four from United Airlines.
Pentagon press secretary John Kirby stated that the Department did not expect a significant impact on commercial flights following this activation.
These flights would not be flown into Afghanistan, but would instead be used to transport people who have been evacuated from Afghanistan.
Biden announced the U.S. withdrawal form Afghanistan earlier in the year. But it has been a disaster. After the Taliban took control of Kabul last week, thousands of people stormed the airport in Kabul to retake the country.
According to NBC News, U.S. defense officials said Saturday that they are looking at alternative routes to transport Americans, Afghans, and third-country citizens to Kabul's airport. This is in response to threats by the Islamic State.
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