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CATHAY PACIFIC AIRWAYS

Russia Operations

Russia Operations

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Terminal Area Communications

Although Russian ATC phraseology and adherence to ICAO SARPs (Standards and Recommended Practices)
has improved dramatically from pre-21st century there remains a very real potential for pilot - controller
misunderstanding surrounding the terms "cleared to..." and / or "direct to..." In many cases ATC have been
reported to clear an aircraft to a certain waypoint further along in the STAR or SID procedure. As is common
phraseology practice in many other parts of the world this has been interpreted as a clearance to proceed
directly to the specified waypoint, omitting any intervening route segments and restrictions. When such an
instruction is issued by Russian ATC however, this may - or may not - be the ATC intended clearance.
ATC may merely be clearing the aircraft to a clearance limit of the specified waypoint and are expecting the
aircraft to follow and fully comply with the previously cleared STAR / SID procedure in order to get there. If any
doubt exists, clarification should be sought from ATC without delay.

Unless otherwise specified, distances referred to by Russian terminal ATC are referenced to the airport, rather
than to the primary airport Navigation Aid.

Wind speed is provided in meters per second. To convert to knots, multiply the meters per second by two. For
example: 15 meters / sec x 2 = 30. Multiplying by 2 is a very close approximation; as in the previous example
the actual wind speed mathematically converts to 29.16kts).

During radar vectors to final approach, unless specifically instructed to fly through the final approach
course, aircraft should turn onto and intercept the final approach course even if no instruction to do so
has been given. If approaching the final approach course and no instruction to intercept has been received,
immediately query ATC; however, if a reply is not forthcoming or timely, aircraft should independently intercept
the final approach course, advising ATC accordingly. Should ATC respond to this query with the phrase
"continue approach", again, aircraft are expected to independently intercept the final approach course. Once
established on final, advise ATC. Handover to tower frequency will normally be given after reporting
established.

At some of the joint military - civilian airports, and possibly without prior advice to crew, the final approach path
may be monitored by a Precision Approach Radar (PAR) controller.
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Russia QFE Altimetry
Below the typically low altimeter Transition Level, altitudes in Russia are given in meters QFE (metric height
above runway). Above the altimeter Transition Altitude standard Flight Levels are used.

QFE is an altimeter setting that results in the altimeter reading the aircraft's height above a selected location
(runway threshold, ARP, etc). As such, when a barometric altimeter is set to QFE it will read much the same as
a radio altimeter and accordingly, if accurate, should read zero when the aircraft is on the ground at the
selected location.

To complicate matters, during a typical arrival to a Russian airport, flight crew will often be presented with a mix
both metric QFE and metric QNH. The resulting requirement to convert both metric QFE values to feet and to
QNH values in a high traffic and workload environment makes it imperative that flight crew are thoroughly
familiar with Russian QFE Altimetry procedures before commencing the arrival descent.

Altimeter settings can be given in a variety of formats. The most common are hectopascals (hPa) and millibars
(mb) with readings also occasionally given in millimetres of Mercury (mmHg). The use of hectopascals (hPa) is
straightforward as 1hPa is equal to 1mb. Thus, 1013hPa is the same as 1013mb. Crews shall only use
altimeter settings given in hectopascals (hPa) or millibars (mb). Altimeter settings given in millimetres
of Mercury (mmHg) are to be ignored due to the potential for conversion error. For information only,
millimetres of Mercury (mmHg) can be converted to inches of Mercury (inHg) by dividing mmHg by 25.4.

Crew must always be unequivocally clear as to which 'type' (QFE vs. QNH) and 'format' (hPa / mb vs.
mmHg) of altimeter setting is being received and subsequently used. All altimeter conversions should
be individually performed and cross-checked by at least two flight crew members.

Although ATC normally state altimeter settings in QFE, when specifically requested, they will provide the QNH
altimeter setting. It has been noted that to foreign airlines, ATC may state the altimeter setting in QNH without it
otherwise being requested. If uncertain about which type of altimeter setting has been received (QFE vs. QNH)
seek clarification from ATC without delay. The altimeter settings stated in the METAR are given as QNH,
while in the ATIS are given as QFE. The ATIS may sometimes give two QFE altimeter settings, one in hPa
and the other in mmHg, the latter of which, as previously mentioned, shall not be used.

A gross error check of the given QNH altimeter setting shall be accomplished by crosschecking the ATC given
QNH to the QNH value printed on the latest METAR. Allowing for a small degree of timely QNH change, the
given QNH should nearly equal that from the latest METAR.

When below the Transition Level crew are to each independently convert the ATC assigned meters QFE to feet
QNH using the conversion tables published on the assigned STAR and / or Approach Charts. Below
Transition Level, only Feet QNH is to be set into the FCU / MCP. Since the FCU / MCP can only accept
values in 100ft increments and the conversion tables present altitudes rounded in 10ft increments, in
accordance with Cathay Pacific Operations Manual - Part A, crew shall round these values UP or DOWN
to the nearest 100ft. Crew must use the applicable runway-referenced conversion table as QFE values are
referenced to threshold elevation, NOT aerodrome elevation. As an example, at Moscow Domodedovo airport,
the 1,000m QFE height for Runway 14R converts to 3,880ft QNH; whereas the same 1,000m QFE height for
Runway 32R converts to only 3,800ft QNH. Limited conversion tables are printed on STAR, SID and Approach
Charts. In line with QFE height being referenced to a specific runway threshold, on STAR and SID Charts QFE
heights are somewhat arbitrarily referenced to a particular runway (as noted on the specific STAR / SID Chart).
If using a different runway from that which is specified a correction value (also printed on the STAR or SID
Chart) must be applied to conversion table values. Alternatively, at certain Russian airports a full conversion
table for each runway is also published on a separate Metre / Feet Conversion Chart. If referring to these
separate Metre / Feet Conversion Charts, care must be taken so as to not mistakenly use the values
depicted under the "feet QFE" column. For applicable ports, this Metre / Feet Conversion Chart is typically
located at the beginning of the Approach Chart section.

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To reduce the potential confusion arising between ATC's use of metric QFE and the aircraft display of
metric QNH (if the Metric Reference Pb were to be selected), crew shall NOT select the Metric Reference
Pb at any time during arrivals or departures into a Russian airport.

Below is an example of a Metre / Feet Conversion Chart - this example is for illustration only and shall NOT
be used operationally.

Below are examples of the STAR, SID and Approach Chart meters QFE to feet QNH conversion tables - these
examples are for illustration only and shall NOT to be used operationally.

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Cold Temperature Altimetry

During winter, operations into many of the Russian airports will require the consideration and potential
application of cold temperature altimeter corrections. This is especially true when the airport environment is
impacted by significant terrain. The presence of such terrain, in combination with cold temperatures, will
require a thorough understanding of the requirement to apply an altimeter correction so as to prevent a
reduction of required obstacle and / or terrain clearance.

Cold Temperature Altimetry corrections are applied to procedural altitudes and approach minima. A procedural
altitude is any altitude that is published in the 'procedure' portion of a STAR, SID or Approach chart. This
includes 25nm MSA altitudes and glideslope crossing altitudes. Minima refer solely to what is published in the
'minima' section as an MDA or DA. If understanding the logic of applying these corrections, it will be obvious
that no corrections are required to the published DH minima as these are based on RADALT values (which will
not be affected by air temperature). If the correction applied is accurate to the prevailing conditions the
RADALT reading at minimums will be the same as the published DH on the applicable ILS approach chart.

Many RNAV procedures have a temperature limitation incorporated into the approach certification. This limit is
published on the approach chart and is often, but not always, -15C.

Altitudes given from ATC while being radar vectored at almost all airports around the world are temperature
corrected. Exceptions will be noted in the Port Page or Airport Information charts. If any doubt exists and crew
have a concern about possible terrain or obstacle clearance, immediate clarification should be sought from
ATC.

Detailed guidance regarding the amount of correction to be applied can be found in the Cathay Pacific
Operations Manual - Part A. ATC must be informed of any applied cold temperature altimeter
corrections.
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Passenger & Aircraft Handling

Especially during the winter, temperatures at many of the primary Russian cities can drop into the extreme sub-
freezing levels. This presents numerous factors which will impact on aircraft operations and must be
considered prior to arrival or diversion.

In the case of an emergency or required diversion, temperature must be considered with regard to passenger
handling after the aircraft has landed and shutdown. Although recent incidents have shown that an overall
improvement has been made, Russian authorities may not permit passengers to deplane until appropriate visas
and / or visa waivers can be obtained. Whether or not deplaning has been permitted, the processing of this
documentation may take considerable time such that a quick 'land-refuel-depart' plan may not be possible
regardless of any allowable flight duty limitation time remaining.

If there are maintenance issues which require rectification, consideration must also be given to the potential
working conditions for engineers, especially if hangar space is unavailable. Additionally, there are several extra
requirements as detailed in the relevant FCOMs concerning aircraft preparation for cold soaking.
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Fuel Grades
Russian airports use fuel grade specification called TS-1 Kerosene which has some differences to standard Jet-
A1 or Jet-A fuel. More technical differences aside, TS-1 has a nominal freezing point of -50C and a maximum
temperature of +55C. Reference must be made to aircraft FCOMs and the Cathay Pacific Operations Manual
- Part A concerning approved fuel types. Crew must also be aware of aircraft limitations (which are generally
based on the percentage of each fuel type in mix) pertaining to the applicable fuel freeze point when different
fuel types are mixed.

Regarding Airbus aircraft, there are additional fuel system limitations with respect to gravity feed ceiling and,
more importantly, centre to inner tank transfer. Refer to aircraft FCOMs for details.
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TCAS / ACAS

Due to the potential for TCAS related confusion on the part of flight crews and ATC, crews are reminded
to always follow TCAS RA resolutions regardless of any potentially contradictory ATC instructions.

To prevent the ND from becoming cluttered in busy airspace, TCAS will generally only depict the 8 nearest
targets; however, as the system will be tracking all aircraft in your vicinity it is vital to appreciate that an RA may
be generated from an aircraft that was not previously displayed on the ND. All TCAS RAs, once clear of
conflict, should be followed up by notifying ATC, referring to the QRH procedure, and the submission of an
ASR.

Be aware that ATC may not advise information on non-transponder / TCAS equipped IFR traffic within the
Russian FIRs.
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Runway Surface Condition

All winter time operations into a Russian airport should include a consideration and evaluation of available
landing distance in combination with runway surface condition, friction coefficient, and expected braking action.
It is not sufficient to merely determine if recent (or current) precipitation has taken place as when temperatures
remain well below freezing, it is possible for a runway to remain fully or partially contaminated for days or even
weeks after a major runway contaminating event.

Russian runway reports can be obtained from the METAR, ATIS or directly from ATC. If unable to obtain the
most recent RCR via these usual channels, crew may request the latest RCR from the Station Agent or IOC
(via ACARS). These runway reports are generally very reliable and can be decoded with reference to the
applicable AERAD Flight Supplement.
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