Two Hawaiian Airlines aircraft are among 18 activated by the Defense Department as part of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet to help with evacuations from the international airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced Sunday.
Jon Snook, executive vice president and chief operating officer at Hawaiian Airlines, said in an emailed statement Sunday, “We are proud to join the U.S. Department of Defense and our fellow air carriers in the humanitarian effort to bring to the United States our citizens and the Afghans who supported them. In the last few days, we have seen harrowing images from Kabul of those trying to flee, and we are ready to do our part.”
Start dates for the mission, which will utilize Hawaiian’s 278-seat Airbus A330 aircraft, are still being finalized.
“Our crews and two of our widebody aircraft will deploy to temporary safe havens and interim staging bases to assist with the evacuation,” Snook said. “We will not fly to Afghanistan, but will assist the outflow of evacuees to the United States from safe airports in the region so that mili- tary aircraft can focus on operations in and out of Kabul. I send my gratitude to our teams and crew who are organizing and fulfilling this important mission.”
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