Pentagon asks commercial airlines for help with evacuation

The US Pentagon has officially asked commercial airlines to help it move evacuees Afghanistan once they left the Taliban-controlled country.

The information was confirmed by the Secretary of Defense of the United States, Lloyd Austin, which indicated that the initial phase of the program was activated this Sunday Civil Reserve Air Fleet, and before the emergency, 18 planes were requested from the companies.

The airlines included in the protocol are United Airlines, which at this stage will provide four planes; American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Airlines and Omni Air, con three ships each; and from the plane of Hawaiian Airlines.

The Pentagon press secretary, John kirby He added that the ministry does not foresee a significant impact on commercial flights due to this activation.

According to Kirby, the planes arranged by the Pentagon they will not steal Kabul Hamid Karzai International Airport; Rather, they will be used to transfer passengers from bus stations once they leave the Afghan capital.

This allow the US military to focus on evacuations in Afghanistan.

“Without being clairvoyant here, we have troops in a very dynamic environment, a very dangerous mission, and they understand that – and they also understand why they are there, they are there to help people, “Kirby admitted in a statement at a press conference.

The Pentagon’s confirmation of the new program which began this Sunday comes at the same time as thousands of people try to reach the Afghan terminal to escape the Taliban.

According to information provided by the Pentagon, only 2,500 from 10,000 to 15,000 Americans who are expected to remain in Afghanistan have been evacuated since the start of the rescue operation on August 14.

In all, some 17,000 people were expelled from the country during this period, they said.

Meanwhile, in recent hours, the pace of army-sponsored outings appears to have slowed: from around 2,000 evacuations per day in recent days to 1,600.

Military officials said the slowing pace It was due to an excess of evacuees at the Qatar air basebecause they had to be moved to other locations – including Ramstein Air Base, Germany – to make room for the new arrivals.

It was also noted that three evacuated planes landed at Dulles International Airport outside of Washington.

Between Friday and Saturday, 2,200 more people fled Afghanistan on 32 charter flights, officials said.

With AP information