Pentagon orders U.S. airlines to assist in evacuation in Afghanistan

The Department of Defense is mobilizing commercial airline flights to help with the United States' evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, which has been chaotic as thousands are desperate to leave the country after the Taliban swiftly took control. /AP

The Department of Defense is mobilizing commercial airline flights to help with the United States' evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, which has been chaotic as thousands are desperate to leave the country after the Taliban swiftly took control.

The Pentagon announced Sunday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered the commander of US Transportation Command to initiate stage one of its Civil Reserve Air Fleet to assist with flying US citizens, Special Immigrant Visa applicants and other vulnerable individuals out of Afghanistan.

Austin's directive will activate 18 commercial flights to help with 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 instead will "be used for the onward movement of passengers from temporary safe havens and interim staging bases," the Pentagon said in a news release.

In a sign of the severity and urgency of the situation, this is the third time the program has been activated in its history, with the first two times being Operations Desert Shield/Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom, according to the Pentagon.

Activating the program will increase "passenger movement beyond organic capability and allows military aircraft to focus on operations in and out of in Kabul," the Defense Department said.

(With input from agencies)