newstodate.aero
Aug 23, 2018 (newstodate): Like anywhere else in the world, Russia is fighting to solve the issue of a growing shortage of pilots in the commercial airline business.
A recent estimate is that Russia will generate an annal shortage of 3-500 pilots, calling for immediate solutions to cover up for the growing gap.
In focus now are debates on the quality of pilot training in airline training centers as one means of remedying the situation as the state-supported training schemes fall short of delivering the number needed.
Due to lack of standardized procedures and regulations, the task of evaluating the specific competencies of pilots trained in-house by airlines however constitutes a bottle-neck.
Another way out would be recruiting larger number of foreign pilots, especially from CIS countries, but also here the situation is becoming strained as pilots are increasingly tempted by new job opportunities rising in China and elsewhere in Asia.
In an amendment to the law in summer 2014, Russia for the first time allowed Russian carriers to hire up to a total of 200 foreign pilots and captains per year, and Aeroflot alone received more than 800 applications from pilots, primarily in the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The first western pilot to steer a Russian aircraft was a German pilot, Klaus Dieter Rohlfs in the captain's seat on a flight from Moscow to Prague on September 24, 2014.
The Russian civil aviation authorities are however also facing difficulties in assessing and evaluating the certificates of foreign pilots issued by foreign institutions and authorities.
A recent estimate is that Russia will generate an annal shortage of 3-500 pilots, calling for immediate solutions to cover up for the growing gap.
In focus now are debates on the quality of pilot training in airline training centers as one means of remedying the situation as the state-supported training schemes fall short of delivering the number needed.
Due to lack of standardized procedures and regulations, the task of evaluating the specific competencies of pilots trained in-house by airlines however constitutes a bottle-neck.
Another way out would be recruiting larger number of foreign pilots, especially from CIS countries, but also here the situation is becoming strained as pilots are increasingly tempted by new job opportunities rising in China and elsewhere in Asia.
In an amendment to the law in summer 2014, Russia for the first time allowed Russian carriers to hire up to a total of 200 foreign pilots and captains per year, and Aeroflot alone received more than 800 applications from pilots, primarily in the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Spain.
The first western pilot to steer a Russian aircraft was a German pilot, Klaus Dieter Rohlfs in the captain's seat on a flight from Moscow to Prague on September 24, 2014.
The Russian civil aviation authorities are however also facing difficulties in assessing and evaluating the certificates of foreign pilots issued by foreign institutions and authorities.