US activates commercial planes to aid evacuees after Afghanistan

The United States will use 18 commercial aircraft to help transport people who have been evacuated from Afghanistan, moving them from temporary locations after they have landed from Kabul, the Pentagon said on Sunday. The move highlights the difficulty Washington is having in carrying out the evacuation of U.S. citizens and at-risk Afghans following the Taliban’s swift takeover marking the third time the U.S. military has employed civilian aircraft.

The aircraft would not fly into Kabul but would be used to carry people who have already been flown out of Afghanistan, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. He described it as stage 1 of the program, suggesting that more commercial aircraft could be activated later.