The story that broke yesterday made headlines: Oleg Saltovsky, the commander of the Belarus presidential aircraft, was keeping the president and passengers informed about the HC Dinamo Minsk vs HC Dynamo Moscow game.
“It's just regular satellite communication. We have satellite communication equipment on the aircraft for long-haul flights. That includes a satellite phone and a satellite pager,” he explained, describing the technical specifics of in-flight communication.
He received the
information from ground-based navigators. "The president, as the main
passenger, sought to create a warm atmosphere for the delegation, to do
something nice for the people. That was the core of the task we were given. We
called regularly, checked the score, and kept everyone updated,” the aviation
unit commander said.
"As soon as we
crossed the northern Urals, we started the live report right on the plane at an
altitude of 11,000 meters. There were no interruptions. There was a slight
glitch when we were approaching Tver, probably due to signal specifics.
Everything went fine," Oleg Saltovsky said.
Those on board noted that they would never forget such legendary attention to hockey. Oleg Saltovsky has already been affectionately dubbed the “second Levitan”. The man at the center of both aviation and sports news remarked that this was his first time having such an experience –announcing the score of a match during a flight. However, he noted that interacting with passengers is part of his job.
“Communicating with passengers, whether verbally, visually, or in writing, requires preparation. The most important thing is that people connect with the person speaking, so you need to speak evenly, with the right tone, never with defeatism or in a minor key. Emergency procedures demand that as well. We talk to passengers every day. You learn to project your voice,” Oleg Saltovsky emphasized.
