Delta to send planes, aid military in relocating citizens from Afghanistan

Delta Air Lines As travel demand rebounds amid COVID-19 recovery, Delta Air Lines told staff Monday, June 21, 2021, that it plans to hire more than 1,000 pilots by the summer of 2022. (Markus Mainka/Getty Images)

ATLANTA — The U.S Department of Defense authorized activation of their Civil Reserve Air Fleet Sunday morning to aid the military in the evacuation of U.S. citizens and personnel from Afghanistan.

That activation included Atlanta based Delta Air Lines which will contribute spare aircraft currently not in use to aid in the mission.

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Delta said in a news release they’ve been in contact with the Department of Defense for the past few days leading up to Sunday’s announcement and they’ve activated planes that will bring back passengers starting as early as Monday morning.

“For decades, Delta has actively played a role in supporting the US Military and our troops,” said John Laughter, Delta EVP and Chief of Operations. “And we are again proud to pledge Delta people and our aircraft in support our country’s relief efforts.”

The air carrier said they will not have flights going directly into Afghanistan, but they’ll have planes stationed at several nearby military bases to help move passengers.

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Delta will use three planes for the operation as aircraft from six U.S. carriers will be pressed into service. American Airlines, Atlas Air and Omni Air will also activate three aircraft. United Airlines will send four and Hawaiian Airlines will send two overseas.

Civil Reserve Air Fleet has been in existence for decades but has been only used twice previously. The first time was in support of Operation Desert Shield/Storm in 1990 and the second was for Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2002-2003 Delta said they were a part of the 2002-03 mission.

According to the Department of Defense, the program was designed to bolster their airlift capability in situations where they need the extra capacity. The commercial carriers retain their Civil Status during their mission but D.O.D’s Air Mobility Command will oversee their travels.

The U.S. has been scrambling to get citizens and others out of the country after withdrawing the military earlier this month. The government was overrun a few days later by the Taliban.

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