A campaign that began with ordinary people donating frequent-flyer miles has raised enough in two months to provide 40,000 flights for refugees from
About 3,200 flights with donated miles have already carried Afghans from temporary housing at military bases in the
Corporations have made half of the contributions so far, mostly in tickets donated by airlines.
The campaign is being organized by Welcome.US and Miles4Migrants, a group that was founded in 2016 and uses donated miles and credit card points to help refugees. The group saw support for refugees fleeing
“Government resources are limited, and we knew that the American people wanted to support Afghans who were arriving and help them find safe homes,” said the miles group’s co-founder,
Individuals have donated enough miles and credit card points to cover 20,000 flights, according to the organizers.
“It is incredibly inspiring to see the American people and American companies coming together to welcome our new Afghan neighbors in this way,” said
The organizers are looking to raise enough additional donations to pay for another 30,000 flights. Using donated miles and cash to pay for travel will free up government refugee aid for housing and other services, organizers say.
“Historically, the evacuees typically pay for their own travel. That is quite a burden to be putting on people who come (to the
According to Markell, about 9,000 Afghans have been resettled in the
Military planes were used to evacuate Afghans from a chaotic scene at
Veterans groups and others have scrambled to get Afghan allies such as interpreters who served the
Some former Trump administration officials are working to build opposition to the
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