Stateless

As some readers of this blog will know, the Bazflyers from time to time, have a propensity to find themselves in the middle of nowhere....and right now it could be said they are again in the middle of nowhere. They are temporarily ‘stateless’, and as a consequence also confined inside the boarders of Great Britain. It’s a situation that must be endured until passports containing all important Russian visas arrive back from New Zealand. 

 

Quite unexpectedly and with no exceptions Russian visas could only be obtained on application to the Russian Embassy in one’s country of residence. This article of bureaucracy left the Bazflyers with no alternative other than to courier relevant documents and passports to New Zealand. That was of course assuming the proposition of flying eastwards across Russia remained the preferred option. 

 

Prior to starting out on RTW 2019, the Bazflyers had planned their return back ‘down-under’ from Europe flying a traditional route through the Middle East, India and South East Asia. However, the experience of flying through Far East Russia injected the proposition of an alternate option which was to fly east across Russia to Vladivostok on the Pacific side. With assistance from Evgeny at MAK General Aviation Services, the route is now locked and loaded only waiting on visas.

 

Bazflyers anticipate their temporary realm of ‘statelessness’ could be overturned by the end of the month. As soon as passports are in hand the Russian sector will begin. Meanwhile, you are invited to join us on some interesting flights in the middle of nowhere....

 

Russia is one very big land mass. The flight from west to east is approximately 10,000 kilometres (5,000 nm). Three weeks and eight stops have been allocated for the journey which is expected to involve 35 hours flying.