North Korea's sole airline, Air Koryo, currently has scheduled flights from Beijing, which depart at 11:30 every Tuesday and Saturday, and return from Pyongyang at 09:00 on the same days. Air Koryo also flies to and from Shenyang in Northeast China every Wednesday and Saturday, and to Vladivostok every Tuesday morning.
Air Koryo is the only 1-star (worst) airline on Skytrax's list and has been banned in the EU due to concerns over safety in the past, though is now allowed to fly in to EU territory again. To date, Air Koryo has only had one incident resulting in death, this was in Africa in 1983. The Air Koryo fleet consists largely of Soviet-made aircraft built between 1965 and 1990, plus the pride of their fleet, a 2008 Tupolev Tu-204, which now usually handles the core Beijing–Pyongyang route. Otherwise, you'll most likely end up on one of their four Ilyushin IL-62-Ms (1979-1988 vintage), but Air Koryo also flies Tu-154s dating back to the seventies and Tu-134s from 1983.
The only other airline with scheduled service to North Korea is Air China, which flies three times weekly from Beijing to Pyongyang. Neither Aeroflot nor China Southern continue to fly to North Korea. Air China is recommended above Air Koryo due to its far more modern and safe fleet.
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about North Korea
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in North Korea - updated Apr 2024
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North Korea Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
