Airlines to help Afghan evacuation through a post-WWII programme

It was the height of the Cold War, and the Soviet Union was attempting to gain control of Berlin by cutting ground traffic to and from West Berlin, which was occupied by France, Britain and the United States.

So the Truman administration decided to airlift food and supplies into the city in a massive humanitarian aid operation that would become known as the Berlin Airlift. Supplies from American planes helped sustain more than two million people in besieged West Berlin for nearly a year.

In the wake of the operation, the Department of Defence recognised the need for additional airlifts to support national defence emergencies and created the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) - a programme that President Joe Biden says will now help the Afghanistan evacuation effort.

The little-used post-Second World War programme will use 18 commercial airplanes to aid the US military evacuation of American nationals and refugees from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

The voluntary program involves the Transportation Department, the Defence Department and the US commercial airline industry, mostly to increase air-carrying capacity during a national defence crisis.

Through “contractual agreements” with the US government, commercial airlines are compelled to volunteer their planes. In return, they are given preference in carrying commercial cargo and passenger traffic for the Defence Department, according to the department’s website.

Alan Stolzer, dean of the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University College of Aviation, described the CRAF as a highly “structured and regimented” program that has been successful and efficient.

“It’s a vital program; it does supplement what the military is capable of doing,” he said in an interview Sunday. “It is only infrequently that the military needs that lift capability, so it makes sense that they would rely on commercial lines.”

Under the CRAF, commercial carriers retain their civilian status and operate under Federal Aviation Administration regulations as the United States Transportation Command leads the mission, said a Pentagon news release announcing the Afghanistan activation.

The CRAF falls under the authority of the Defence Production Act - a Cold War-era law that gives the president emergency authority to control domestic industries to support military, energy, space and homeland security programs.

The law also allows the president, largely through executive order, to direct private companies to prioritise orders from the federal government and to “allocate materials, services, and facilities” for national defence purposes, according to the Council on Foreign Relations.

This is the third time the CRAF has been used.

It was first activated during the Persian Gulf War to bring passenger jets, cargo transports and crews to aid the massive deployment of US troops and supplies to the region from August 1990 to May 1991, and their eventual return.

The second was for Operation Iraqi Freedom, from February 2002 to June 2003.

On Sunday, the Defence Department announced the 18 commercial jets it will use to increase US military airlift capability: three planes each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, Delta Air Lines and Omni Air; two from Hawaiian Airlines; and four from United Airlines. The commercial planes will not fly into Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport, but they will ferry passengers from transit centres and US military bases in Persian Gulf Arab nations such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, where Afghans are being processed for resettlement in other countries. Government officials have said they hope the program eases the burden on some of these overwhelmed bases.

The orders to use commercial jets come as the US struggles to ramp up its evacuation efforts for the thousands of Afghans trying to flee the Taliban’s control.

“The department does not anticipate a major impact to commercial flights from this activation,” Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said in a statement Sunday.

In a statement late Sunday morning, United Airlines said it would participate as “a global airline and flag carrier for our country.”

“We embrace the responsibility to quickly respond to international challenges like these,” the statement continued, “and use our expertise to ensure the safe passage of our fellow countrymen and women as well as those who have risked their lives to help keep them safe.”

Delta Air Lines also responded to the government’s orders and said the company “is scheduled to have multiple relief flights arriving back in the United States beginning Monday morning,” adding that it will use spare aircraft and that its commercial operations are not being affected.

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

The Washington Post