Emergency equipment and more: Aeroflot’s cabin crew are not allowed to document defects

Something is missing or broken in the cabin – Aeroflot flight attendants always write this on the official list of defects. On this basis, technical teams provided replacements or repairs as quickly as possible.

However, due to Russia’s attack on Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions, the Russian aviation industry has been cut off from the supply of spare parts from the West. As Russian research portal Proekt has now revealed, Aeroflot sent a letter to senior members of its cabin crew in March 2022.

Flight without enough oxygen

In a letter available to the editors, the authenticity of which was confirmed by three former Aeroflot employees, the airline advises its cabin crew to stop directly documenting the defects. They should report the problem verbally to the cockpit crew and log it only after consulting them. That doesn’t seem to happen often either.

A flight attendant told the portal that she worked on a jet from the United Arab Emirates to Moscow last year when something important was missing: there were not enough oxygen tanks to take care of everyone on board in one event. Accident to provide pressure drop with oxygen. The reason was that the captain had not officially communicated this and wanted to accept the delays.

“We don’t have spare parts”

According to the flight attendant, the shortage of oxygen bottles was reported only in Moscow. “In the past, you were immediately fired because you didn’t have emergency equipment,” another informant told Proekt. This is not obvious today.

A flight attendant says she frequently verbally reported grievances to the airline’s technical staff that she never documented in writing. The answer is often: “That’s right. We don’t have a spare part anyway.” Unless the entire matter is officially recorded in writing, the flight may continue to depart. According to Proekt’s research, the situation should be similar for other Russian airlines.