OREANDA-NEWS. Aeroflot's Public Council second working session was held today.

The main point on the agenda was the problem of the acute shortage of flight personnel in the domestic airline industry, especially the lack of aircraft captains. Aeroflot has initiated amendments to the Russian Air Code which was prohibiting admission of foreign specialists to the civil aviation flight crews. The Airline conducted an intensive work with the different branches of Government to promote this initiative.

In April 2014 President of Russia Vladimir Putin signed the Federal Law which gave an opportunity to Russian airlines to recruit foreign pilots - 200 people per year. Aeroflot's quota is 80 pilots.

Aeroflot became the first company in the history of Russian aviation which recruited a foreign pilot. The Airline has received in total 821 CVs from the candidates from Czech Republic, Germany, Italy and Spain. The candidates are highly qualified with impressive job experience, proved by all necessary certificates (despite the local fears about the inflow of "unskilled labor").

Nowadays Aeroflot is ready to sign the contracts with 26 pilots - most of them are citizens of Germany. Aeroflot's employment offer complies with the highest foreign standards and often exceeds them. Professional standards and working conditions in the Company are absolutely equal for both foreign and the Russian pilots. Any discrimination is absolutely impossible.

The Public Council members studied the future plans of the foreign pilots recruitment program which will be developed and adjusted if necessary.

"The first foreign pilot started working at Aeroflot. Soon other upscale pilots from abroad will join him. This is a truly historic moment", - said The Chairman of Aeroflot's Public Council Tatiana Tarasova. - The ban for foreigners to access the Russian air crews is now removed. Mainly it happened due to persistent lobbying activities of Aeroflot".

The Public Council was created as a consultative and advisory body, which will help Russia's leading airline to formulate its position taking into account demands of the society. Also the members of the Public Council are involved in advising the Government on regulation and development of the national air transport industry.

Aeroflot's Public Council includes 26 Board members who work free of charge with annual rotation. The Board unites prominent figures of culture, education, health, sports, business, media, public organizations and industry's representatives. The Board members represent key regions under Aeroflot strategy.

Aeroflot is Russia's flagship carrier and one of the largest airline groups in Europe. In 2013, its 90th anniversary year, Aeroflot carried 20.9 million passengers (31.4 million passengers as Aeroflot Group including subsidiaries), a record for any Russian airline. A proud member of the SkyTeam global airline alliance, Aeroflot and its partners serve more than 1,000 destinations in 177 countries worldwide. Aeroflot operates the youngest fleet in the World (among the major airlines), numbering 152 Airbus, Boeing and Sukhoi airliners. Aeroflot is among the global leaders in aviation safety. The company's European Community Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) Index, which is the main globally recognized safety parameter, is comparable to global peers. The first Russian carrier to enter the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) register, renewing its registration for the fifth time in 2013, Aeroflot has successfully passed the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) and is fully ISO 9001:2008, ISO 14001:2004 compliant. In 2014 Aeroflot was named by SKYTRAX as the Best Airline in Eastern Europe for the third time.