During the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union attempted to gain control of Berlin by cutting off ground traffic from West Berlin, which was occupied by the United States, France, and Britain. President Truman was in office at the time and his administration opted to airlift food and other supplies into Berlin in a now widely known humanitarian relief effort called the Berlin Airlift.
After the Berlin Airlift, the United States’ Defense Department saw the need for additional aircraft to aid in national emergencies or disasters, and thus, the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, or CRAF, was born. Since its creation, the CRAF has now been activated three times with the latest activation occurring in August 2021 to help evacuate Americans and Afghan refugees from Afghanistan.
In August 2021, the Taliban re-gained control of the government and Afghanistan’s capital city of Kabul. Suddenly, thousands of Americans and Afghan citizens were stranded in a war-torn country and needed rescue. United States Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin activated stage one of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet in response to the need to evacuate those still in Afghanistan.
The Department of Defense requested three aircrafts each from American Airlines, Atlas Air, and Delta Airlines, two aircraft from Hawaiian Airlines, and four from United Airlines. In response, United Airlines provided four 777-300 aircraft and, in a press release statement said that "as a global airline and flag carrier for our country, we embrace the responsibility to quickly respond to international challenges like these 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.”
American Airlines were also happy to help with evacuation efforts. In their statement, American Airlines said, “The images from Afghanistan are heartbreaking. The airline is proud and grateful of our pilots and flight attendants, who will be operating these trips to be a part of this life-saving effort." American Airlines sent three wide-body aircraft to the Arabian peninsula and Europe to help with evacuation efforts. You can check images and read more about their efforts here.
Before the August 2021 Afghan rescue missions, the CRAF was last activated from February 2002 to June 2003 during Operation Iraqi Freedom. The first activation occurred from August 1990 to May 1991 during Operation Desert Storm.
From evacuation efforts in war-torn countries to disaster relief following a hurricane or other natural disaster right here in the US, our general aviation workers are our country’s unsung heroes. Keep checking back right here for more stories of how general aviation is helping the world, one mission at a time.
