SPLS lobbies to reduce the level of flight safety?

There have been reports in the media about the “opaque” process of conducting flight inspections, after which pilots are fired from airlines. The Sheremetyevo Aircrew Trade Union (SHPLS) claims that pilots are deliberately flunked at unscheduled flight checks with the aim of subsequent reduction. As a counter to such “unfair” dismissals, the ShPLS asked Rosaviatsia to organize a separate independent body to conduct unbiased examinations for aircraft pilots. Russian airlines believe that SHPLS acts in the interests of a few unsuitable pilots, and this approach threatens to “decrease the level of flight safety.”

The head of the trade union, Igor Deldyuzhov, writes in his letter: “The pilot does not pass it, since the airline has the task of reducing the number of personnel in any way.” He told the media that several dozen pilots from different airlines had reported such a “compulsion to quit”.

Airlines categorically disagree with such a formulation of the issue and see no reason to change the conduct of inspections. So, the Red Wings airline said that the carrier is responsible for the readiness of pilots and flight safety, so the airline must evaluate them itself. Each pilot must undergo eight hours of training on the simulator of his type of aircraft once every six months (recurrent rating). For an airline, such a session costs €3,000-4,000. If the pilot does not give it up, the carrier bears the costs again. If the pilot fails again, they can be fired, “but such cases are rare in the industry.”

A source in one of the major Russian airlines told MK: “The proposal of the Sheremetyevo trade union of flight personnel with the organization of such a kind of “bar association” that will protect insufficiently qualified pilots can lead to degradation of airlines’ requirements for flight safety. The initiation of allegedly additional unbiased examinations (instructors) already initially proceeds from a different task – to keep the job for the disqualified pilot. Will such “independent examiners” take responsibility for the consequences of the assessment given to the pilots being tested, which could potentially allow violations of the aircraft operating rules that provoke aviation events?

The official representative of the Aeroflot company said that the pilots are highly qualified personnel, which the company values. There will be no reductions in pilots. Speaking about the SHPLS initiative, he noted: “The company has a well-established comprehensive mechanism for conducting flight inspections. The level of training of pilots, as well as the safety of air travel, lies entirely on the shoulders of the airline. Examiners of Aeroflot undergo a serious selection, and later training according to a program approved by the Federal Air Transport Agency. The Flight Operations Manual contains a rule on non-interference of the airline management or third-party organizations in the activities of the examiners. The examiner is responsible for objectivity in determining the qualifications of pilots. Moreover, the simulators are video-recorded, which allows you to verify the objectivity of the rating given to the pilot.”

The airline emphasized that the proposal of the ShPLS to introduce “independent examiners” into the structure of the Federal Air Transport Agency can be regarded as a relaxation of the requirements for pilot qualifications, which categorically does not correspond to the interests of Russian civil aviation and may lead to a decrease in the level of flight safety. “We, as the country’s largest airline, would like to see, on the contrary, proposals to increase or at least not reduce the level of safety and requirements for examiners,” the source at Aeroflot specified. He also added that unscheduled flight checks in the airline are carried out only if the pilot misses the next check or according to the flight data analysis program – when the pilot shows maximum deviations and incidents during the flight.

In addition to the airlines, the Rosaviatsiya did not support the initiative of ShPLS. So, the Federal Air Transport Agency denied the mass appeals of pilots to the department about unscheduled inspections by employers. The FAVT also drew attention to the fact that the Air Code clearly spells out the procedure for preparing pilots for flights. According to the document, all procedures and checks are entirely the responsibility of the airline.

“There were no mass appeals from pilots to the Federal Air Transport Agency regarding unscheduled inspections by employers. In accordance with the Air Code, the airline is solely responsible for the readiness of pilots to fly. In this regard, the issue of their admission to flights is within the competence of air carriers. Ensuring flight safety is an absolute priority, and airline management should take comprehensive measures to prevent its decline,” summarized the Federal Air Transport Agency.

Miroslav Boichuk, the head of the trade union of the flight crew of Russia, said in the media that according to the Council for Professional Qualifications of Air Transport (SPK BT), there are more than 9 thousand pilots. The head of the ShPLS speaks of several dozen appeals, thus proposing to change the rules for conducting inspections and worsen flight safety due to less than 1% of pilots working in Russia.

“The initiative of the trade union looks far-fetched, one gets the feeling that colleagues simply have nothing to do. Probably, several dozen pilots who complained were simply unsuitable and could not pass the test. It can be compared with university exams. Those who taught and know, pass, those who did not teach and do not know, cannot pass and they are expelled, ”emphasizes the interlocutor from the aviation industry.

Recall that in 2015, the court accused the leaders of the ShPLS of attempted fraud on an especially large scale: during the campaign for the indexation of salaries to employees, trade union leaders promised the management of Aeroflot to cancel their demands in exchange for several million rubles.

In addition, by opinion editor-in-chief of the Avia.ru portal, for a number of years ShPLS has been campaigning for Russian pilots to leave to work abroad, regularly advertising foreign employers. In effect, the union “acted as a recruiting agency, assisting in changing employers.”