President Joe Biden’s administration on Sunday said that commercial aircraft would be used to help ferry people who have been evacuated from Afghanistan. A Pentagon spokesman said the 18 aircraft, including from United, American Airlines, and Delta, would not fly into Kabul but be used to transport people who have already left Afghanistan.
This is the third time such a move has been made under the "Civil Reserve Air fleet."
The Defense Department had asked U.S. airlines to be on standby to help transport U.S. citizens, Special Immigrant Visa applicants and other at-risk people fleeing Afghanistan, a Pentagon spokesman said.U.S. carriers were warned Friday night of the possible activation of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, a program in which airlines commit planes to be available for military airlifts in an emergency, spokesman Chris Mitchell said in an emailed statement.
If activated, the planes would help move Afghans and others out of U.S. bases in Qatar, Bahrain and Germany, Dow Jones reported earlier Saturday, citing U.S. officials it didn’t identify. The Pentagon spokesman didn’t specify which airports or bases the planes might be used at.
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