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The Austin directive will activate 18 commercial flights to aid in the evacuation efforts: three each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air; two from Hawaiian Airlines; and four from United Airlines.
The planes will not fly to Hamid Karzai International Airport, but will instead be “used for the subsequent movement of passengers from temporary shelters and interim transit bases,” the Pentagon said in a press release.
A sign of the gravity and urgency of the situation, this is the third time the program has been activated in its history, the first two being Operations Desert Shield / Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to the Pentagon.
Activation of the program will increase “the movement of passengers beyond organic capabilities and allow military planes to focus on operations to and from Kabul,” the defense ministry said.
CNN has contacted the airlines for comment.
United Airlines announced on Sunday that it was activating four Boeing 777-300s as part of the civilian reserve airline fleet.
“United is proud to partner with the Defense Department and support the humanitarian mission to transport US citizens and Afghan evacuees,” the airline said in a statement, adding that it is still trying to gauge the extent of what should be a “small” impact on the rest of its operation.
Atlas Air is “proud to provide” the Pentagon “with essential passenger services to the region at this critical time. We are doing everything possible to provide the capacity essential to support the evacuation efforts,” a spokesperson told CNN. of the society. .
More than 20,000 people in and around Kabul airport tried to board flights out of the country, amid one of the largest airlifts in history.
CNN’s Pete Muntean, Sheena McKenzie and Nick Paton Walsh contributed to this report.
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