Speaking at a panel discussion Friday, Azat Zaripov, deputy head of Aeroflot's air safety unit, said that about forty such muts now work as sniffer dogs for the company. Huskies are also employed by in this capacity, he added.
Dogs at Aeroflot's nursery begin training shortly after they are born; an old Tu-154 jet on the nursery grounds is used as a training facility. The company has a specially equipped vehicle to carry its dogs around, Mr Zaripov said.
Panelist Valery Salyeev, second in charge of Russia's Federal Transportation Safety Control Office, revealed plans to use Aeroflot's sniffer dogs more extensively. According to him, his agency and Aeroflot have already reached an agreement to the effect, so now the dogs can be given on loan to other air carriers and to Moscow's airport hubs.
