RuAviation

In 2025, the Aeroflot Group Training Center delivered more than 33,200 equivalent flight hours as part of flight deck and cabin crew training programs. The figure was achieved through approximately 8,500 training sessions conducted on full-flight simulators (FFS) and fixed-base procedural trainers. The sessions involved pilots from Aeroflot Group airlines as well as third-party operators, according to the company’s press office.

Total demand for the training complex exceeded 44,000 simulator sessions across all training programs. This volume includes pilot and cabin crew training, as well as specialized emergency and survival training, including ditching and water evacuation drills. In total, 1,972 training groups completed emergency response programs, while around 7,500 trainees underwent water survival training in the center’s pool facility.

The distribution of simulator hours reflects a shift toward recurrent training and type transition programs. Fixed-base simulators were used both for ab initio instruction and for transition and consolidation training of active crews moving to the Sukhoi Superjet 100 (SSJ100), Boeing 737NG, and Airbus A320 families. Full-flight simulators were primarily employed for abnormal and emergency procedures, system and component failure scenarios, and mandatory elements of periodic proficiency checks.

The training center’s hardware portfolio includes six full-flight simulators covering all aircraft types currently operated by Aeroflot, three procedural trainers for flight crew, and more than 20 devices dedicated to emergency and survival training for pilots and cabin crew. In addition, the center operates four cabin mock-up simulators with full passenger cabin replication, designed to train crew–passenger interaction in both normal and abnormal operational scenarios.

A dedicated training pool forms a separate element of the complex and is designed for large-scale water evacuation training. Its configuration allows the simulation of adverse meteorological conditions, including heavy precipitation, expanding the range of practiced scenarios and reducing the gap between simulator training and real-world operations.

The site also hosts three full-flight simulators operated by external entities and aircraft developers: a Boeing 737 simulator of Pobeda Airlines, as well as MC-21 and SSJ100 simulators operated by United Aircraft Corporation (UAC). This layout creates a unified hub for crew training, testing, and methodological development for both in-service and next-generation aircraft types.

From an industry perspective, the achieved simulator utilization highlights how Russian civil aviation is adapting to restricted access to foreign training infrastructure. Increased reliance on domestic simulator capacity reduces pressure on in-service flight hours and shifts a significant portion of crew training into a highly controlled environment with repeatable and standardized scenarios.