An American airlines Airbus A321-200 approaches Washington Ronald Reagan National Airport (DCA) in Arlington, Virginia on February 24, 2021.
Daniel Slim | AFP | Getty Images
The Biden administration on Sunday activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, ordering U.S. commercial airlines to provide flights for the Afghanistan evacuation efforts.
The CRAF is a nearly 70-year-old program created in the wake of the Berlin airlift to provide a backup by commercial air carriers for a “major national defense emergency.”
The flights wouldn’t be out of Afghanistan but from other locations, a person familiar with the matter told CNBC. These routes could include flying individuals who are stranded at U.S. bases in Germany, Qatar and Bahrain, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news.
—CNBC’s Leslie Josephs and Brian Schwartz contributed to this report.
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