Russia considers to open its doors to foreign pilots

[PurdueFlight]

This might happen very soon.

[MagicMilkshake]

Thats exciting, i always wanted to go to that part of the world.

They will probably open the doors to foreign pilots, but do you know if they would still be looking for russian speaking pilots? does foreign mean anybody :ok:, or does it mean soviet satellite states like Belarus etc. :sad:

[Veinraf]

They will be searching for experienced captains/fo's and without 'говоришь по-русски' you'll have a hard time living there:)
By foreign pilots they mean ' немцев, французов и американцев':8

[Dan the weegie]

Aside from the language barrier there's likely to be significant culture shock on both sides of the equation. It's a good thing but unlikely to be a comfortable transition - if it goes ahead.

[MagicMilkshake]

Well i understand several words, and being from an eastern european/slavic country i feel like i may just fit right in haha. i'd still have much learning though, not denying that

They should have an english division for pilots in russia. i think that work well :ok:

[HaBuraTop]

If I've got it right, they might open their market only for CIS pilots first...

[Skyglider]

Russian Aviation Takes Action: Employing Foreign Pilots (http://www.balticaa.com/en/about-us/news-and-press-releases/russian-aviation-takes-action-employing-foreign-pilots/?&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=BAANews_-_October_2012_|_Nr_10)

[Turbavykas]

Any news on this topic anyone?

[Metlik]

Come on, my friend - this is the Russia. There is nothing happens so fast. These ideas to open the borders for foreign pilots are discussed many-many years. Where is the results? Nowhere. It's a Russia baby, it's a Russia :) :ugh:

[cefey]

Im afraid it will open doors to a lot of corruption and I think Im not the only one with this concerns.
And there will be huge language barrier. English is not widely used in Russia and airline will prefer pilots to be able to talk Russian, well, in case of emergency? Another thing is communication between crew. What if you disagree with capt. and you dont understand each other?

Im sure Russian language will be a must, unless you are TR capt. with tons of hours.
As for low-hour pilots? Well, if you speak Russian, then Im sure you will stand a chance. But be prepared for the conversion to Russian Licenses. Would not surprise me if half of people changed their mind and dropped off half way through the conversion.

[Metlik]

Conversion of licence? Forget it. Just forget it - if they will not accept EASA/FAA licenses, nobody will go to convert a license. Even for russian guys, who get the EASA/FAA license is very hard to convert the license.
But main problem is different: this is a Medical certificate. Do you know, how many time it takes for young and healthy pilot in Russia to get the certificate? Half a day? One day? Two days? No, it could take up to two weeks. In case you have no healthy problems at all. And during these two weeks you will see many interesting procedures...
So, only way for foreign pilots in Russia is acceptance of EASA/FAA licenses and medical certificates.

[cefey]

As for conversion, Im pretty sure they will require that. Main problem - there is no clear rules for conversion atm. Depends on who you meet, they may make you to do a test or you just need to show log from your training and verify that it meet the standards laid out by Russian Authority.
So yeah, it may be from just some simple paper work and till months of paper work. But Im sure they will make the process easier if they decide to recrute pilots.

As for medical, its actually not that bad. Normally it should not take more then a day, 2 at most. There is no special "aviation doctor" you need to see, as in US, but rather been checked by many different doctors.
If you go to Aeronautical Hospital or some privat hospital (where you have to pay more), but there will be no waiting lines, it should go relatively quick. Half a day, day.
In gov. hospital it may take longer time, because of the que to different doctors that you need to see.

[Turbavykas]

Sad news :(

The Russian Transport Ministry proposes hiring some 200 foreign pilots for Russian airlines, however, this figure would just cover the country’s flagship carrier Aeroflot and more pilots could be needed, reports RIA Novosti referring to "Kommersant" newspaper.
The Transport Ministry has prepared amendments to the Aviation Code, allowing to hire citizens of other states as pilots. The document is published on the website of the Ministry. The amendments have been submitted for interdepartmental adjustment. The quota for foreigners, and the period of contracts with them are to be defined by the Government. The quota is supposed to be in force during 5 years. In this period, the deficit will reduce due to training own staff, “Kommersant” newspaper writes today.

[Lora]

Aviation community (not the management) here, in Russia, doesn't wait and doesn't want to see foreign pilots, afraid of the competition and falling of salaries. And, by the way, local guys are quite severe, as well as local winters:ouch:

[Aviaservice]

Agree with you! Moreover, there is no lack of FO's! I've asked several pilots, they suppose the transit to CP's will be prolonged. I know, how our management make a business here and this statement looks quite truly!

[Metlik]

cold winters? let's try our Baltic winter: constant temperature deviations from -5 till +2, wet shoes, rain, wet snow, winds, high humidity and lot of sick peoples around. The regular winter with -15~ -20 is much better.
If your government will open the border for us (imho unbelievable), type rated captains and instructors will not come to you: there is a lot of issues to live in Russia and follow russian rules in the airline. Maximum as you can get - young CPL holders, without TR and jet-time.

[flynini]

Putin lets Russian airlines hire foreign pilots
Putin lets Russian airlines hire foreign pilots | Reuters (http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSBREA3K0SL20140421)

[flaps35]

I thought this is for the former USSR countries.Correct me if I am wrong.
Not for Europe etc.


Greetings:rolleyes:

[runak]

It's for captains only. But the main problem for any foreigner will be medical, which is totally different from your JAR-3FCL. It's complicated, but good analogy would be, the requirements we have in Russia for civil pilot are like what you have for mil pilots in the West. These will not be waived for foreing captains, no exceptions. To say just one thing, new candidates must pass RECTAL (yeah, anal) test where they put an endoscopic camera in your ass to see if you have lacerations in your colon. Same thing goes for stomach as well. Encephalography (not limited to epilepsy, alpha-waves disqualify you just as well). Vision must be near-perfect, and until recently, no LASIKs were allowed (probably still so). Hearing tests (high freq), bicycle cardio load. Of course, complete set of urine and blood tests. IQ, MMPI and other psycho tests.
Russian medical is called VLEK, and can be passed at several locations that are usually at airports. There are 4-5 of these in Moscow. You need several days to pass it, and in period of high load, it can be a couple of weeks (or if additional tests are required).
You may say that all that doesn't make sense, but in fact it does - it is designed to bring pilots from former USSR rather than westerners. These are used to VLEK (some ex-soviet states maintain it as does Russia).

[maximus610]

Here are VLEK's medical requirements (in Russian only) http://vk.com/doc-64797864_262829401?dl=a958b0680d563994d4