Flight Safety and Aviation Security

Flight safety and aviation security have always been a top priority for Aeroflot Group. Operations of Aeroflot Group airlines comply with the requirements of the Russian civil aviation laws as well as internationally accepted standards and recommended best practices.

Flight safety

PJSC Aeroflot maintains high flight safety levels. The flight safety index for Aeroflot airline and Aeroflot Group was 99.974% in 2018, exceeding the 2018 target of 99.957% and staying comfortably within the 99.900%–100% top range. The upward trend in flight safety is driven by the preventive measures taken by the Group companies as part of their continued efforts to enhance the flight safety management system.

The Safety Assessment of Foreign Aircraft (SAFA) ratio for Aeroflot airline and Aeroflot Group declined year-on-year in 2018. The improvement was driven by fewer violations reported by EU SAFA ramp inspections. The SAFA ratio for the Group companies meets the EU requirements and does not exceed the Blacklist threshold (Ratio ≤ 2) as well the target ratios set by the Company (Ratio ≤ 0.95). Aurora airline was not subject to any inspections under the SAFA programme as the company did not offer flights to the European region.

The Company implemented a number of initiatives in 2018 to further deploy the flight safety management system, in particular:

• Information system for integrated processing and storage of PJSC Aeroflot’s fight safety data was further developed, with its functionality expanded
• Design documents were developed for an R&D and technology project to conduct a feasibility study into developing a predictive model for aviation incidents related to operating PJSC Aeroflot’s aircraft
• Operating unit managers were certified to use the flight safety management system, and other related activities were carried out

Inspections run by the Federal Air Transport Agency and Federal Service for Supervision of Transport (Rostransnadzor) commissions reaffirmed the Company’s ability to operate safe commercial flights as required by the Federal Aviation Rules.

During 2018, PJSC Aeroflot performed internal inspections of:

• Aeroflot airline’s aircraft in European airports under the SAFA Programme
• airport refuelling facilities via the IATA Fuel Quality Pool (IFQP)
• Sheremetyevo airport, including apron inspections and quality of ground handling and maintenance inspections
• airports within Aeroflot’s airline route network and representative offices of the Company.

Inspection results help the Company identify key risks which are taken into account in continuous improvement of flight safety management. As part of the Company’s flight safety management system, PJSC Aeroflot has in place the Safety Management Committee, whose main responsibilities include risk analysis and development of measures to achieve targets for flight safety and prevention of aviation incidents.

Mitigating the risks of aircraft ground damage is an important objective of improving flight safety. The Company carries out apron inspections and monitors the quality of ground handling services on a daily basis. The Company was involved in testing and commissioning of the new Terminal B at Sheremetyevo airport to ensure the preventive identification of potential gaps in flight safety arrangements covering the airport’s apron and terminal.

Continuous bird activity monitoring and bird scaring activities are carried out at Sheremetyevo airfield in order to prevent bird-strike incidents.

PJSC Aeroflot has in place a voluntary reporting system for employees that can be accessed at the Voluntary Reporting section of the Company’s intranet. All crew feedback is reviewed daily by the Safety Management Department to develop and implement relevant improvements.

Aviation and transportation security

In 2018, Aeroflot Group continued focusing on maintaining a robust aviation and transportation culture, as well as passenger and employee health and safety through liaising with airport security services, airlines, and law enforcement authorities. The implemented initiatives enabled the Group companies to ensure high safety and security levels before and during the 2018 World Cup.

PJSC Aeroflot continued to improve its Automated Aviation Security Management System that provides authorised employees with access to up-to-date information. The system helps assess the status of the security system in real time and monitor its compliance with the standards set by the airline’s Security Programme, recommended ICAO and IATA standards, and laws of destination airport countries.

The Company’s experts continued their longstanding involvement with SkyTeam Aviation Security Functional Experts (ASFE) group. For many years, Aeroflot’s representatives in ASFE have led the experience sharing programmes to address unruly and disruptive passenger incidents.

The Company’s experts have been actively involved in the efforts to improve the Russian aviation and transportation security legislation. The Company also has representatives in the Inter Agency Working Group on Aligning Aviation and Transportation Security Regulations and the Inter-Agency Working Group on Transportation Security Equipment Certification established by the Russian Ministry of Transport.

An important milestone was the entry into force of Federal Law No. 376-FZ On Amending the Aviation Code of the Russian Federation dated 5 December 2017, allowing a carrier to deny service to passengers included on its list of persons denied carriage (passenger blacklisting). The federal law was initiated by Aeroflot and developed by a working group of the State Duma of the Russian Federation with active involvement of the Company’s representatives.

Aeroflot Group airlines carried out over 40 air safety inspections at airports within the Group’s route network. Minor violations were remedied during the inspections.

The Company continued to develop its canine service to ensure transportation security. Aeroflot’s integrated canine service is a biotech-based security solution, which ensures consistent and regular inspections of the airline’s infrastructure and vehicles. It operates in a closed cycle, from reproduction of sniffer dog stock to training, to use in detection. The biotech-based solution ensures olfactory monitoring of Sheremetyevo airport facilities to detect explosives and explosive devices. The European Patent Office granted Aeroflot a European patent for its Method of Detecting Explosives and Other Target Substances in 2018.

Aeroflot airline has received the Innovation Time 2018 annual award in the Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering category. The award was won by the Company’s “Aeroflot. Sulimov Dog” project. This marked the first time in the award’s history when it was granted to a transportation and service company and not a specialist institution.

PJSC Aeroflot works in close partnership with its subsidiaries to ensure aviation security. A shared information space is being created by the Group companies to monitor processes in base airports and the progress of aviation security activities. PJSC Aeroflot monitors and analyses risks across the route network of the entire Group.