Rising to the Occasion

杜勒斯国际机场（IAD）无法应付的美国航空团队没有很多情况。As a sister airport to American’s hub at Reagan National Airport (DCA), IAD is a common location for diverting aircraft during inclement weather, which is why the airline’s team there has developed something of a specialty in managing irregular operations and other one-of-a-kind circumstances.

It’s also why American’s IAD team was well-positioned to rise to the occasion when U.S. airlines were notified that the Department of Defense was activating the Civil Reserve Air Fleet to transport evacuees coming from Afghanistan, with the first flights set to arrive at the Northern Virginia airport.

When Camille Didier, American’s general manager at IAD, began preparing her team for the task, she sought out volunteers and received a characteristically positive response.

“Like with every station, you get a feel, and our agents here are really good about stepping up, especially for greater causes. This was a station that [was here] for 9/11, so they’re really used to this kind of stuff, and we’ve been pretty lucky and very blessed, because they always come through for us. They really do.”

两名位于巴尔的摩/华盛顿国际机场（BWI）的客户服务代理人注意了卡米尔的志愿者呼吁，每个人都在凌晨3点班上班上驾驶到IAD，以支持IAD的常规行动，而该机场的团队专注于CRAF任务。

丽莎·扬（Lisa Young）说：“我的男朋友实际上在阿富汗服役。”“我想知道我能做什么来帮助，当我看到[消息]时，我想，‘是的，我可以做些帮助，为他们提供帮助。我的心只是向他们倾诉。我很荣幸能够自愿做某事，即使我从未见过这些人，即使在幕后也是如此 - 只是知道我做了一些有助于改善生活的事情，并希望给他们一些希望。我很想做更多的事情。实际上，我告诉我的男朋友：“如果他们需要家，答案是肯定的。”

Arbi Pulaj, the second customer service agent who traveled from BWI, learned a few words of the local language so he could better communicate with those arriving. As a native of southeast Europe and attuned to the history of its refugee crises, he was personally moved to be involved.

他说：“成为这里最早的人之一是一种荣幸。”“他们可能首先看到我们的脸，你知道吗？他们一直在试图离开那里，看到和平，看看有些太阳，如果愿意的话，很长一段时间。”

劳雷尔·巴克（Laurel Buck）还前往IAD伸出援助之手，自愿从她在德克萨斯州沃思堡的美国总部校园派出航班，以代表商业伙伴的运营和支持团队。

“I read about it in the news,” she said. “Monday morning, straight off the presses, my team was involved pretty heavily. That’s been our whole week so far. I just wanted to help.”

随着团队在等待即将到来的飞行，在停机坪上普遍存在同样的观点。在两天的时间内，该车站的近20个团队成员申请接收临时海关，以使他们能够参与救援航班运营所涉及的工作。DCA的首席飞行员Keith Firmin上尉也在IAD上，他为机上船员提供了实时的实时支持。

“他们想在这里。我认为每个人都为成为这项努力的一部分而感到自豪。”客户服务经理圣地亚哥·莫拉莱斯（Santiago Morales）说。“我想他们很高兴来到这里。”

In addition to the familiar duties associated with operating a safe and successful flight, American’s IAD team proved its reputation for delivering on the fly by making a run for pizza to feed hundreds of passengers on one of the rescue flights, as well as the team members taking care of them.

卡米尔（Camille）告诉她的团队与披萨广场（Pizza Place）打来电话，说：“您听到他向后尖叫，‘是的，我们有一个很大的！美国航空！'”

The impromptu pizza run was just one of the many ways American’s team stepped up to care for evacuees on board. Before the first mission took flight, the team at JFK Airport in New York worked to provision the aircraft with everything from pajamas and wash cloths to diapers and teddy bears for children.

肯尼迪国际机场联盟经理戴维·伦巴德（David Lombard）说：“我们已经看到了阿富汗的情况。”“因此，当有帮助时，我们想尽一切可能在船上提供一些额外的舒适感。”

美国人的敬业​​机组人员也使CRAF任务成为可能，其中首次由纽约基地的志愿者组成，由纽约和波士顿航班主任Tony Dettorre领导。

“It’s humbling to be a part of the national effort to care for and provide safe passage to those who have offered and sacrificed so much for the U.S.,” said Capt. Dettorre. “The hard work, compassion and commitment of the American family is unwavering. Without their tireless efforts both on the ground and in the air, these missions wouldn’t be possible.”