This business aviation blog post continues from our article last week, entitled “BizAv Ops Planning: Confederations Cup FIFA Final 2017 in Russia – Part 1: Airports, Parking, Alternates & CIQ.”

This is a post by author Dmitry Konovalov. Dmitry is general director for  Universal Aviation Russia – Khabarovsk, based in Khabarovsk (UHHH), which provides 24/7 coordination of flight permits and ground handling services throughout Russia including supervision services at all Moscow airports. Dmitry is an expert on business aircraft operations in Russia and can be contacted at [email protected].

For travel to Confederations Cup host cities during this period (June 17 and July 2), airport slots and landing permits will need to be requested as soon as possible. Once airport slot and permit approvals have been obtained it’s best to avoid last minute revisions as this could very well complicate your overall operation.

The following is an overview of what you need to know:

1. Flight plans

For any flight departure within Russia, flight plans should be filed no later than three hours prior to departure. Should you wish to depart earlier than the time submitted on an earlier flight plan request you’ll need to cancel the original flight plan, wait for the rejection message and then submit a revised flight plan.

2. Landing permits

Landing permits are mandatory for all private non-revenue and charter (non-scheduled commercial) operations to Russia. Permit lead times, however, differ depending on the pattern of your operations. Note that slots approval must be obtained before a landing permit is issued.

If you are operating one to four non-scheduled flights per month on international airways to airports of entry (AOEs), and with aircraft with less than 19 passenger seats, permit lead time is one business day.

For the operation of aircraft with more than 19 passenger seats, or when carrying more than 10 passengers onboard, permit lead time is three business days.

If you are operating more than four non-scheduled flights per month, or use non-international routings and/or airports, lead time is 14 business days.

3. Lead time for permits

During high traffic event periods, such as the Confederations Cup, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) may require that airport slot and landing permit requests be submitted at least 30 days prior to operation.

4. Airport slot and ground handing requests

In most cases slot validity will be +/- 30 minutes. In practice, slot times and parking are normally not confirmed until a few days prior to arrival and may differ from what was originally requested. Due to heavy traffic congestion we recommend that operators avoid changing confirmed slot times. Note that if a slot time is missed, landing clearance may not be granted, and/or the operator may be subject to penalties. Handling services, airport slots and other required support services should, ideally, be requested at least one month prior to the event.

5. Documentation and call signs

Russian permit applications mandate certain documentation in advance: certificates of registration and airworthiness, noise certificate and worldwide insurance. Note that worldwide insurance papers must be legible, in English, valid and as brief as possible. Be mindful that when operators use call signs or flight numbers for permit application the flight plan must use the same call sign/number and not the aircraft registry number.

6. Permit validity

Once granted a permit is valid starting from 0001 UTC on the day of operation, remains in force for 48 hours and is quite flexible. For aircrafts with less than 19 seats onboard, it’s possible to revise routing, schedule and entry/exit points without permit revision. All that’s required is to submit a revised flight plan no later than three hours before departure.

Revising permit approval to an earlier time, such as if you’re scheduled for 0030 UTC and want to operate one hour earlier, will require a permit revision as you’re operating on different UTC date.

Any change requests should be reported to your ground handler as early as possible so they can begin making necessary airport slot and support service amendments.

7. Hotels and local transport

For travel to host cities during the 2017 Confederations Cup event, crew accommodations and local transport should be requested as far in advance as possible. All preferred host city hotel accommodations are anticipated to be fully booked by the Organizing Committee, long before the event.

8. Cabotage

Cabotage rules are strictly enforced in Russia. Picking up and moving local passengers and/or cargo between two points in Russia is considered cabotage and puts you in violation of AIP and Air Code rules. If any passengers are picked up in Russia they should continue on with the aircraft until it’s outside of Russia.

9. Fuel considerations

When planning fuel uplifts in Russia be aware that not all fuel suppliers are prepared to add fuel additives, particularly on short notice.

10. Catering considerations

We recommend requesting catering 24-48 hours in advance. Any catering requests made via a trip support provider with less than 24 hours’ notice cannot be guaranteed. In most cases, subject to advance arrangement, ground handlers will have refrigeration facilities available and are able to store early catering deliveries. At Moscow and St. Petersburg it’s possible to offload and retain any remaining onboard catering at ground handler refrigerated facilities.

Conclusion

Options can always be organized to accommodate short notice and last minute GA trip requests to upcoming Confederations Cup events. You will need, however, to be flexible in terms of available slots times, parking options and crew accommodation possibilities. Be aware that slots should not be revised after approved, as to avoid having issues obtaining new slots and/or the landing permit. Also, be aware of cabotage regulations as they are clear and stringent.

Questions?

If you have any questions about this article or would like assistance planning your trip to Russia, contact me at [email protected].