Volga-Dnepr to Lay Off Over 200 Boeing Pilots

Volga-Dnepr Group, Russia's largest group of cargo airlines, will fire more than 200 Boeing pilots of its subsidiary airlines AirBridgeCargo and Atran. The cargo carrier can no longer maintain the Western-made Boeing fleet as international sanctions remain in place.

The company retained only a few crews in case it gets the go-ahead from the Russian Ministry of Transport to return remaining Boeing jets to lessors.

AirBridgeCargo employed more than 300 pilots at the beginning of the year, while Atran employed about 110. At the beginning of 2022, Volga-Dnepr occupied 51% of the Russian air cargo transportation market.