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Aeroflot plane in Moscow: most of the pilots of Russian airlines received their training in the military department of a flight school (picture from 2020)
Photo: MAXIM SHEMETOV / REUTERS
Due to the partial mobilization, the Russian war of aggression is now affecting large parts of the population – and, according to a newspaper report, also airlines.
Industry insiders at several airlines assume that between 50 and 80 percent of employees will be drafted into military service, the newspaper Kommersant wrote.
Most of the pilots of Russian airlines graduated from the military department of a flight school and are reserve officers.
Others receive their draft orders because they have recently completed their regular military service.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered partial mobilization.
As a result, the employees of five airlines and ten airports received notices of their appointment within a day, the report says.
The largest airline Aeroflot therefore expects that more than half of its staff could "potentially" be affected by the convocation.
The company itself did not want to comment officially on this, and there were no statements from other airlines either, according to “Kommersant”.
IT specialists and technicians could also be drafted
The biggest concern is the possible mobilization not only of crews but also of technicians, IT specialists and commercial staff, managers told the newspaper, the report said.
Several airlines would therefore formulate requests for exemption for the staff.
Those lists would have to be approved by the recruiting office in each region, the newspaper reports, citing a source.
The company's lawyers are not yet able to say whether the corresponding lists should be sent to the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of Defense or the regional authorities.
Nevertheless, two airlines have already compiled such lists and sent them to the local administration or the regional Ministry of Transport, Kommersant writes: Pilots and engineers were included in the list for the first airline, and IT specialists for the second.
The information could not be independently verified.
Russian airports already have lists of employees who are exempt from military service because they are continuously operating companies, Kommersant writes, citing the source.
Work to expand the "quantitative and official composition" of the lists began long before the "special action," as the war of aggression in Russia is to be officially called, says the report, but has not been completed.
As a result, airport workers across the country would receive subpoenas, the source in Kommersant said, including those exempt from conscription.
For the source, this indicates "serious inconsistencies in the work of the military enrollment and recruitment offices," which would lead some people to fear
The partial mobilization is seen as an expression of the pressure the Kremlin chief is currently under.
Now the war is probably finally arriving in Russian society - with great risks for Putin.
Read more here.
ani/dpa
