Flying your own plane from Nome AK US to Anadyr Russia

Flying your own plane from Nome AK US to Anadyr Russia - Black and White Photo of a Flying Airplane

Or to be more precise, what were they supposed to do? They flew their own Beech Bonanza from Nome, Alaska, to Anadyr, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia (in the eastern tip of the country). They claimed to have gotten the proper visa.

Here's the video in question. I cued it up to 19:53 where they start to talk about what happened.

Now, Anadyr is on the south bank of an inlet. The airport is on the north side, and they're connected with a ferry: At 25:48 the narrator explains that if you cross the water to enter Anadyr, that's what needs special permission. Does any of that make sense?

What really happened? And was it a trivial violation as they made it sound, or is it a serious violation that would prejudice future attempts to enter Russia?



Best Answer

Beyond the passport and Russian visa that most people need to enter Russia generally, there are two additional separate permits required to visit the Chukotka region, which is normally closed to nonresidents:

  • The rasporyazheniye (????????????), which permits entry into the region (only foreigners require this permit, Russians do not), and
  • The propusk (???????), which permits crossing the regional border and going to specific locations in the region (everyone needs this permit).

I also watched this video last week, and I already knew that this region was rather difficult to get into. From the limited detail in the video, I can't be entirely sure which of the two permits they were missing.




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Can you fly from Nome to Russia?

With Bering Air, you can flight from Nome to different destinations in Siberia, such as: Anadyr. Provideniya. Petropavlovsk.

Can you fly straight from Alaska to Russia?

Is it possible to cross from Alaska to Russia legally? Yes, but not via the Bering Strait. It is possible to depart from Alaska outside of a port of call (a community that has customs and immigration processing facilities), but you must arrive in an official port in Russia.

How long does it take to fly from Alaska to Russia?

Average direct flight time is 5 hours 45 minutes. The fastest direct flight from Alaska to Russia is 5 hours 45 minutes.

Can you fly over the Bering Strait?

The only remotely feasible option for a normal tourist would be to take the one-hour flight between Nome, Alaska, and Providenya, Chukotka. An Alaskan charter airline called Bering Air does this hop a few times a year (mainly during the summer months).



Flying Our Plane to Russia Did NOT Go As Planned




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Images: Malcolm Garret, Andrea Piacquadio, Karolina Grabowska, João Jesus