United Airlines will operate flights as part of U.S. Government Civil Reserve Air Fleet

At United, our mission is connecting people and uniting the world, so it’s with that spirit that we now begin the important mission of supporting our military in ensuring the safe passage of American citizens and Afghan evacuees to the United States. For the first time since 2003, the federal government has activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, or CRAF. This means that select aircraft from U.S. airlines, including United, will support the mission of the Department of Defense in operating flights to bring to the U.S. our men and women in uniform, American civilians as well as those Afghan citizens who have risked their lives to help keep them safe.

CRAF is activated when the military’s needs exceed the capability of their aircraft and this is the first time it has been used primarily to transport civilians. As a global airline and flag carrier for our country, we embrace the responsibility to quickly respond to international challenges like this one – it’s a duty we take with the utmost care and coordination as we call upon the expertise of several different teams within our airline to work in close partnership with the U.S. military to safety execute this operation. We are especially thankful to our flight crews, technicians and support teams who are deploying at a moment’s notice to staff these missions.

We live in complicated times, but we’ve learned that an essential ingredient to our collective well-being is working together. We are united in caring for this group of passengers as they travel safely to the United States.