Search

US Department of Defense activates Civil Reserve Air Fleet

Share this article

For just the third time in history, the US Department of Defense has activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) to assist with the transportation of evacuees and refugees from Afghanistan. The CRAF aircraft will not fly to Kabul, but will carry passengers from bases in the Middle East to Europe and the United States.

A Delta Air Lines A350 operating a charter flight at Frankfurt-Hahn Airport
A Delta Air Lines A350 operating a charter flight at Frankfurt-Hahn Airport in 2020.

Civil Reserve Air Fleet aircraft

The US Department of Defense has activated 18 aircraft from six airlines to participate in operation, likely to last a few weeks. Airlines required to provide aircraft include: American Airlines (3), Atlas Air (3), Delta Air Lines (3), Hawaiian Airlines (2), Omni Air International (3), and United Airlines (4).

The list below will be updated as additional information becomes available about the specific aircraft allocated by each airline to the CRAF mission.

AirlineRegistrationAircraft type
American AirlinesN760AN777-200(ER)
American AirlinesN761AJ777-200(ER)
American AirlinesTBDTBD
Atlas AirN649GT767-300
Atlas AirN464MC747-400
Atlas AirN465MC747-400
Delta Air LinesN810NWA330-300
Delta Air LinesN820NWA330-300
Delta Air LinesN504DNA350-900
Omni Air InternationalN486AX767-300
Omni Air InternationalTBDTBD
Omni Air InternationalTBDTBD
Hawaiian AirlinesTBDTBD
Hawaiian AirlinesTBDTBD
United AirlinesN2352U777-300(ER)
United AirlinesTBDTBD
United AirlinesTBDTBD
United AirlinesTBDTBD

What is the Civil Reserve Air Fleet?

The Civil Reserve Air Fleet was established in 1951 following the Berlin Airlift, when the United States determined it needed supplemental airlift capabilities and those needs could be met by civilian aircraft. In its current form, it is a voluntary program that US airlines can join. They pledge to make aircraft and crews available on short notice to the US military under the US Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM). In exchange, those airlines are given preference for carrying peacetime cargo and passenger traffic for the Department of Defense. The CRAF has been activated twice before, in 1990-1991 during the first Gulf War and again in 2002-2003 during the build up to the Iraq War.

A United Airlines 777 currenting operarting for the Civil Reserve Air Fleet

On The Radar Logo

Get the latest aviation news delivered to you

Get the latest aviation news delivered to you

Flight tracking and aviation industry news direct to your inbox

Aviation news comes quickly, so join more than 1.7 million others who receive weekly aviation industry and flight tracking news from Flightradar24 direct to their inbox.

Share this article
Latest threads
Latest video

Most wanted airport receiver locations

We’re always looking for additional receiver hosts in areas that either lack coverage or need additional coverage. Help us grow the Flightradar24 ADS-B network.

Trending articles
On The Radar Logo
Get weekly updates on Flightradar24 and have the latest aviation news land in your inbox.
AvTalk Logo

AvTalk Episode 316: The helicopter in the Hudson

Most wanted airport receiver locations

We’re always looking for additional receiver hosts in areas that either lack coverage or need additional coverage. Help us grow the Flightradar24 ADS-B network.

How flight tracking works

Flightradar24 combines data from several data sources including ADS-B, MLAT and radar data.
Search the blog
Follow us
Latest AvTalk Podcasts
More stories
London City International Airport is located in the heart of London, enabling convenient access to the city for some 3.5 million passengers per year….
On 21 April 2025, an aircraft using the call sign WELCOME was spotted in the skies above Lviv, Ukraine. Unidentified in the Flightradar24 database…
Ryanair (FR/RYR) are the largest Boeing 737 operator in Europe, and one of the largest in the world. We took a look at how…

Flight tracking top 10 aircraft

Explore the top 10 most tracked aircraft and find out why these particular aircraft draw so much interest.

Help to grow our flight tracking coverage

We are continually looking to improve our flight tracking and the airports below are where new receivers will add the most coverage. Apply for a receiver today and if accepted you’ll receiver a free Flightradar24 Business Subscription.

Free ADS-B Receiver
Flightradar24 logo
Try the full Flightradar24 experience free for 7 days
Remove ads and unlock over 50 additional features
On The Radar Logo

Get the Flightradar24 Aviation newsletter

Flight tracking and aviation industry news direct to your inbox

Aviation news comes quickly, so we want to bring more of the aviation world to you with our weekly Flightradar24 aviation newsletter - On The Radar.

On The Radar Logo