The Civil Reserve Air Fleet is part of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

's mobility resources. Selected

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engine ...

from U.S.

airlines An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in whic ...

, contractually committed to Civil Reserve Air Fleet, support

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

airlift requirements in emergencies when the need for airlift exceeds the capability of available military aircraft.

History

In 1952, after aircraft were

commandeer Commandeering is an act of appropriation by the military or police whereby they take possession of the property of a member of the public. In the United States In United States law, it also refers to federal government actions which would force ...

ed for the

Berlin Airlift The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

, the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) was created as a more orderly way of serving emergency military needs. The Fleet has two main segments: international and national (domestic). CRAF has been activated three times. The first activation was as part of

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

. The second was once as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom. In 2021 it was activated as part of

Operation Allies Refuge Operation Allies Refuge was a United States military operation to airlift certain at-risk Afghan civilians, particularly interpreters, U.S. embassy employees, and other prospective Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applicants from Afghanistan during ...

in Afghanistan.Bertoletti, Mario
"Civil Reserve Air Fleet Activated to Fly out Afghanistan Evacuees,"
August 23, 2021, ''Airways,'' retrieved September 4, 2021

Membership commitment and requirements

The airlines contractually pledge aircraft to the various segments of Civil Reserve Air Fleet, ready for activation when needed. To provide incentives for civil carriers to commit aircraft to the Civil Reserve Air Fleet program and to assure the United States of adequate airlift reserves, the government makes peacetime Department of Defense (DoD) airlift business available to

civilian Civilians under international humanitarian law are "persons who are not members of the armed forces" and they are not " combatants if they carry arms openly and respect the laws and customs of war". It is slightly different from a non-combatant ...

airlines that offer aircraft to the Civil Reserve Air Fleet. DoD offers business through the International Airlift Services. For fiscal year 2005, the guaranteed portion of the contract was $418 million. Air Mobility Command (AMC) previously reported that throughout fiscal 2005 it planned to award more than $1.5 billion in additional business beyond the guaranteed portion of the contract. To join the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, carriers must maintain a minimum commitment of 40% of its Civil Reserve Air Fleet capable passenger and cargo fleet. Aircraft committed must be US registered, and carriers must commit and maintain at least four complete crews for each aircraft.

Fleet

, the Civil Reserve Air Fleet consists of 450 aircraft from 24 airlines. This breaks down to 413 aircraft for international operations, with 268 considered to be in the "long-range international" category and 145 in the "short-range international" section, as well as 37 aircraft in the "national" segment. These numbers are subject to change on a monthly basis.

Contracts

The U.S. Department of Defense regularly issues contracts and task orders within the Civil Air Reserve Fleet program. For example, on October 1, 2018, U.S. Transportation Command issued millions of dollars of task orders to members of the Civil Air Reserve Fleet. On October 1, 2019, U.S. Transportation Command again issued millions of dollars of task orders to members of the Civil Air Reserve Fleet for charter airlift services. Less than one year's worth of Civil Air Reserve Fleet operations (18 November 2015 through 30 September 2016) was worth roughly $357 million.

Membership

The following air carriers are members of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet:

Long-range international

ABX Air ABX Air, Inc., formerly Airborne Express, is a cargo airline headquartered at Wilmington Air Park near the City of Wilmington, Ohio, Wilmington, Ohio, USA. ABX Air operates scheduled, ad hoc charter and Aircraft lease, ACMI (Aircraft, Crew, Mai ...

Air Transport International Air Transport International, Inc. is an airline based in Wilmington, Ohio, United States. It operates worldwide cargo charters and combi charters for the express package industry and freight forwarders, as well as for the United States Department ...

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

Amerijet International Amerijet International Airlines, Inc. is an American cargo airline headquartered in Miami, United States. The airline delivers air freight with its fleet of Boeing 757s and Boeing 767s from its main hub at the Miami International Airport to 48 de ...

Atlas Air Atlas Air, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, is a major American cargo airline, passenger charter airline, and aircraft lessor based in Purchase, New York. Atlas Air is the world's largest operator of the Boei ...

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc., typically referred to as Delta, is one of the major airlines of the United States and a legacy carrier. One of the world's oldest airlines in operation, Delta is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline, along w ...

FedEx Express FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corporation, is a major American cargo airline based in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. As of 2020, it is one of the world's largest airlines in terms of fleet size and freight tons flown. It is the na ...

Hawaiian Airlines Hawaiian Airlines ( haw, Hui Mokulele o Hawaiʻi ) is the largest operator of commercial flights to and from the U.S. state of Hawaii. It is the tenth-largest commercial airline in the United States, and is based at Honolulu, Hawaii. The airl ...

Kalitta Air Kalitta Air is an American cargo airline headquartered at Willow Run Airport, Ypsilanti Township, Michigan. The company operates international scheduled and cargo charter services. Its call sign "Connie" is from its founder, Connie Kalitta. ...

* National Airlines (N8) * Omni Air International *

Polar Air Cargo Polar Air Cargo Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings, is a cargo airline based in Purchase, New York, United States. It operates scheduled all-cargo services to North America, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Its main ...

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

UPS Airlines UPS Airlines is a major American cargo airline based in Louisville, Kentucky. The second-largest cargo airline worldwide ( in terms of freight volume flown), UPS Airlines flies to 815 destinations worldwide. A wholly owned subsidiary of UPS (Unit ...

Western Global Airlines Western Global Airlines, LLC is an American cargo airline based in Estero, Florida. The company's services include aircraft leasing, commercial charters and military charters. Its main hub is located at Southwest Florida International Airport in ...

Short-range international

Alaska Airlines Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the num ...

JetBlue Airways JetBlue Airways Corporation (stylized as jetBlue) is a major American low cost airline, and the seventh largest airline in North America by passengers carried. The airline is headquartered in the Long Island City neighborhood of the New York C ...

* Lynden Air Cargo * National Airlines (N8) *

Northern Air Cargo Northern Air Cargo, LLC (NAC) is an American cargo airline based in Anchorage, Alaska, USA. NAC operates a small fleet of Boeing 737-300s and Boeing 737-400 freighter aircraft within the state of Alaska as well as widebody Boeing 767-300 freigh ...

* Sun Country Airlines *

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

* USA Jet

Domestic

Allegiant Air Allegiant Air (usually shortened to Allegiant) is an ultra low-cost U.S. carrier that operates scheduled and charter flights. It is a major air carrier, the fourteenth-largest commercial airline in North America. Allegiant was founded in 1 ...

Everts Air Cargo Everts Air Cargo is an American Part 121 airline based in Fairbanks, Alaska, USA. It operates D.O.D, scheduled and charter airline cargo within Alaska, Canada, Mexico and the continental United States. Its maintenance base is Fairbanks Interna ...

* Southwest Airlines

References

External links

Civil Reserve Air Fleet Program at the U.S. Department of Transportation

Civil Reserve Air Fleet at the U.S. Air Force
{{authority control Aviation in the United States United States Department of Defense agencies