Turkish Airlines training centre not to train Russian pilots

Russian pilots will no longer be able to get trained on flight simulation simulators (FSTD) at the Turkish Airlines training centre.

The centre has sent a corresponding notification, the Telegram channel Aviatorschina reports. The pilot of one of the Russian companies confirmed to The Insider the authenticity of the letter.

It reports that due to the tightening of sanctions by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which has certified all FSTD simulators, the Turkish Airlines training centre is forced to stop working with companies from Russia.

According to aviation experts interviewed by The Insider, who wished to remain anonymous, any persons and organisations cooperating with airlines from the Russian Federation risk falling under secondary sanctions. If the aviation training centre in Türkiye continues to train Russian pilots, EASA may revoke its certificate. Turkish Airlines will inevitably be followed by other training centres, experts say.

"There is a possibility that the Turkish Airlines training centre will not be the only organisation that refused to train Russian airline pilots. It is clear that there are training centres for airlines in the Middle East - these countries have not yet joined the sanctions, so our pilots will be able to train at some Emirates centres. But this is further and, most likely, more expensive if Emirates does not dump," the expert says.

According to the interlocutors, the refusal of the Turkish partners to cooperate is a serious blow to the system of training and maintaining the qualifications of pilots in the Russian Federation. It was in Türkiye that Russians were trained on those simulators that were unavailable after the closure of Europe. Even with regular flight practice, simulator training remains mandatory for pilots. There are simulators for the most common types of mainline aircraft of the Airbus A320 and Boeing B737 family in the Russian Federation. With other types of liners, the situation is more complicated.

"There are no simulators for a long-haul type, such as the Boeing B777, for example, in Russia. And without training, even if there are airworthy B777 aircraft, it will not be possible to fly them safely. Pilots will lose their qualifications and will not have access to fly on these machines, according to the aviation rules of the Russian Federation. This also applies to other foreign aircraft types, which may soon be left without qualified pilots. For example, for the newest Airbus A350 aircraft, which is only available in Aeroflot, there is not a single simulator in Russia either," the expert says.