After war broke out in Ukraine, countries around the world took action and began sanctioning Russia. The restrictions include banning Russian planes from EU and US airspace and halting supply of parts. The result was the paralysis of Russian aviation. The Kremlin has tried everything to mitigate the effects of the penalties. In an attempt to circumvent the restrictions, Putin has passed a law nationalizing foreign planes, essentially stealing the jets.
Currently, there are not many countries that are still friendly with Russia. Despite repeated requests from the EU and the US, Türkiye has opted not to apply restrictions. However, recent sanctions by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have managed to block Russian pilot training in Türkiye.
The Turkish Airlines Flight Center, where Russian pilots do their regular simulation training, also has to comply with EASA regulations and therefore had to comply with the latest restrictions. Russian airlines were notified in a letter that was also published on Aviatorshina’s Telegram channel.
“Russian airlines can no longer send pilots to Türkiye for flight simulation training (FSTD). Due to the tightening of sanctions, Turkish aviation training centers stop working with airlines from Russia. Thus, today the Turkish Airlines training center informed Russian airlines that according to the tightening of sanctions imposed by the European Aviation Safety Agency, it is forced to stop cooperation with companies from Russia, since all FSTDs are approved by EASA,” the statement reads Notice , obtained by simply flying.
If the intent is to fly in Russia or with Russian controlled/registered aircraft, then such training would be supportive of using prohibited aircraft or operators and therefore prohibited.
EASA
EASA states that “it is prohibited to provide technical assistance, brokering services or any other service related to aviation goods and technology and the provision, manufacture, maintenance and use of these goods and technology, directly or indirectly, to any natural or legal person, legal entity or entity in Russia or for use in Russia.”
Some Russian pilots may still receive training if they would later operate non-Russian aircraft, for example if the student or candidate is destined to fly as an EU airline employee. However, there is no exception for private pilots.
There are no adequate simulators in Russia, so that soon all pilots will be banned from flying. While sourcing spare parts for planes was doable, building simulators is a much more difficult task, and with pilots required to have FSTDs twice a year, all Russian planes could soon be grounded.
