In flight

Russia will compile its own blacklist of foreign airlines

Russia is going to learn the European experience of compiling blacklists of unsafe foreign airlines. The regulatory framework governing this process should be developed in the coming months. The new deputy head of the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviation) Gennady Loschenov told reporters about this yesterday. “We can create so-called blacklists, in which we will include the most “distinguished” air carriers. We cannot allow our passengers to be transported unsafely,” he said.

According to him, checks of foreign aircraft for compliance with safety standards are already underway at Russian airports. However, Rosaviatsiya still considers it impossible to announce the names of identified violators, since the regulatory documents regulating such inspections have not been fully developed. According to Mr. Loschenov, it will take another one and a half to two months to draw up the most necessary regulatory framework. However, he argues that this measure is not a response to the actions of the EU aviation authorities, whose comments to a number of Russian airlines forced Rosaviation to ban or limit their flights to Europe.

“The EU has been notified in advance of the Russian side’s plans to compile such lists,” he said, adding that the decision “is not aimed at retaliating against the EU for restricting the flights of a number of our airlines.” The EU has maintained a pan-European blacklist of troubled foreign air carriers since 2006. Russian companies have never been included in it before, but the EU’s comments on some domestic enterprises have forced Rosaviatsia to restrict the flights of these companies to Europe twice with its power.

It is noteworthy, however, that Russian claims to the activities of foreign airlines almost always become known at the moment when foreign aviation administrations have questions for ours. The last time this happened was in March of this year: the concern of EU aviation authorities was caused by the Pulkovo airline (now merged with the state transport company Rossiya). Then the Russian and European aviation authorities were conducting difficult negotiations on the right of Pulkovo to be present on the European market; the head of Rosaeronavigatsiya, Alexander Neradko, sent a letter to the President of the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) Michel Waschenheim. The letter reported that over the previous nine months, in the Moscow air zone alone, aircraft of EU member states deviated from their prescribed flight altitude 18 times, entered restricted areas five times and violated the rules for flying over the state border of the Russian Federation (how many times the letter does not say ). Mr. Neradko promised to “introduce the practice of refusing to issue flight permits” if European colleagues do not immediately take action against their violators. He was probably satisfied with the measures taken, since the plot did not develop. By the way, Pulkovo continued to fly to Europe.

The Russian blacklist, unlike the European one, according to Mr. Loschenov, will include not only foreign, but also domestic airlines. Last Monday, Transport Minister Igor Levitin gave a number of instructions to the air transport departments subordinate to him in connection with the latest EU comments on the safety of Russian aircraft. In the introductory part of this document, the minister assessed the current situation rather alarmingly: “The analysis shows that if drastic measures are not taken in the coming months to bring the organization of flights to the EU countries in line with international standards, the aviation authorities of the Russian Federation will have to expand restrictive measures for flights Russian airlines in the EU."

To avoid this, Rostransnadzor has been instructed to send out an order to all airlines in the country in the coming days to bring their aircraft and documentation into compliance with international standards, and within two months to carry out an unscheduled inspection of those airlines that have received the most criticism from the EU. And to “catch” foreign violators, the minister ordered the formation of special inspection groups at all international airports in Russia by July 16.

Mikhail KUKUSHKIN