The US has ordered six commercial aircraft to assist in the transit of persons once they have been evacuated from Afghanistan, as part of an effort to speed up the departure of Americans and at-risk Afghans from Kabul.
The Pentagon said it summoned 18 civilian planes from United Airlines, American Airlines, Delta Air, and other airlines to transport people from temporary locations when they arrived from Afghanistan, relying on an industry it last used during the 2003 Iraq War.
The move underscores Washington's difficulty in carrying out evacuations following the Taliban's quick takeover, as it is only the third time the US military has used commercial planes.
Thousands of civilians waited outside Kabul's international airport yesterday in the hope of being evacuated as Taliban gunmen fought against crowds.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated, "We need more planes in the mix."
In what Pentagon spokesman John Kirby described as stage one of the operation, the planes will not fly into Kabul, implying that more commercial planes could be activated later.
The airlift would be extended as long as possible, according to US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Mr. Austin stated, "We're going to do everything we can to get everybody, every American citizen who wants to get out, out."
“We continue to explore new and innovative ways to reach out to American citizens and assist them in gaining access to the airfield.”
Non-Americans who qualified for evacuation, including Afghans who have asked for special immigrant visas, were included, he subsequently stated.
President Joe Biden's management of the pullout was "catastrophic" and had created a "global crisis," according to Ryan Crocker, who served as US ambassador to Afghanistan under both George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
One of the challenges facing the evacuation from Afghanistan, which has evacuees being transferred to a dozen nations, is a lack of aircraft.
Officials have expressed dissatisfaction with the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department's delayed processing, and there is growing worried about security in Kabul.
The US and its allies have sent thousands of troops to supervise the evacuation of foreign people and Afghans, but they have avoided the areas surrounding Kabul airport.
According to White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, the US has “secured the capacity to safely transport large numbers of Americans through the airport and onto the airfield” in Afghanistan.
Last Monday, the US military utilized three military helicopters to transport 169 Americans from a facility just 200 meters away to Kabul airport.
This kind of operation is expected to continue, according to officials.
Mr. Blinken told Fox News yesterday, "We're in direct contact with Americans and others to help guide them to the airport – right place, right time, to get in more safely and effectively."
American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines, and privately held Omni Air announced yesterday that they will each supply three planes, with Hawaiian Airlines providing two and United Airlines providing four.
American and Delta have announced that rescue flights will begin today, and they, along with other airlines, have praised the appeal to assist the US troops in the midst of the humanitarian disaster.
In a statement, it stated, "American... is proud to fulfill its duty to assist the US military in scaling this humanitarian and diplomatic rescue mission."
“The images from Afghanistan are heartbreaking,” says one participant.
The Pentagon stated that the operation will not have a "significant impact" on commercial flights.
Separately, Delta stated that its commercial operations were unaffected, while American stated that it “will work to minimize the impact to customers as the airline temporarily removes these aircraft from our operation.”
United said it was still evaluating the impact, but that it expected it to be "minor." Atlas Air said it would transport evacuees to the United States and would be ready to help if more space was needed.
According to the White House, roughly 3,900 people have been evacuated from Kabul in the last 24 hours on 35 coalition planes, including commercial airlines, and 3,900 more on 23 US military flights.
Since August 14, almost 25,100 people have flown out.
As part of the evacuation attempts, Bahrain's national carrier, Gulf Air, flew from Isa Air Base in Bahrain to Dulles International Airport in Virginia.
The “Civil Reserve Air Fleet” was last employed during the build-up to the invasion of Iraq (2002-2003), and before that during the Gulf War (August 1990-May 1991).
