Air Koryo

Air Koryo (Template:Korean) is North Korea's flag carrier and only commercial airline.Template:Sfn It is state-owned and controlled by the North Korean air force.Template:Sfn Headquartered in Sunan-guyŏk, Pyongyang,<ref>"Contact Template:Webarchive." Air Koryo. Retrieved on 6 August 2009. "Democratic People's Republic of Korea P'yongyang – Head office Air Koryo Sunan District P'yongyang"</ref> it operates domestic and international routesTemplate:Sndon a regular schedule only to Beijing, Shenyang, and VladivostokTemplate:Sfn<ref name="timet1">Template:Cite news</ref>Template:SfnTemplate:Sndfrom its hub at Pyongyang's Sunan International Airport.<ref name="FI">Template:Cite news</ref> It also operates flights on behalf of the North Korean government, with one of its aircraft serving as North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un's personal plane.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Its small fleet consists of Ilyushin and Tupolev aircraft from the Soviet Union and Russia, and Antonovs from the Soviet Union and Ukraine.

Air Koryo's history can be traced to the founding of the Soviet–North Korean Airline (SOKAO) in 1950.Template:Sfn Following the Korean War, in 1955, the airline was reorganized as Korean Airways and started domestic and international routes to other communist Eastern Bloc states in Asia and Europe.Template:Sfn Another reorganization followed after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and in 1993, the airline adopted its current name, Air Koryo.Template:Sfn Due to its aging fleet of Soviet aircraft and related safety and maintenance concerns, Air Koryo was banned in the European Union between 2006 and 2020, when it was allowed to resume operations into the EU with their newly acquired Tu-204 aircraft.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the rule of Kim Jong Un, Air Koryo also started branching out into commercial sectors beyond aviation, such as ground transportation and consumer goods.Template:Sfn

The COVID-19 pandemic caused Air Koryo to suspend regular operations, with no scheduled international flights between 2020 and 2023.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

History

Early years

Korean Airways aircraft with German Working Group Hamhung staff (1958)

Korean Airways logo

In early 1950, SOKAO (Soviet–Korean Airline, Template:Korean) was established as a joint North Korean-Soviet venture to connect Pyongyang with Moscow.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Regular flights began that same year.<ref name="MacDonald1975">Template:Cite book</ref> Services were suspended during the Korean War, resuming in 1953 as Bureau of Civil Aviation Ministry of Transport of DPRK. The state airline was then placed under the control of the Civil Aviation Administration of Korea (CAAK) and re-branded Korean Airways (Template:Korean), starting operations on 21 September 1955 with Lisunov Li-2, Antonov An-2 and Ilyushin Il-12 aircraft. Ilyushin Il-14s and Ilyushin Il-18s were added to the fleet in the 1960s.<ref name="FI" />Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Expansion

Jet operations commenced in 1975 when the first Tupolev Tu-154 was delivered for service from Pyongyang to Prague, East Berlin, and Moscow with refueling stops in Irkutsk and Novosibirsk, as the Tu-154 had insufficient range. Tu-134s and An-24s were also delivered to start domestic services.<ref name="GlobSec"/> The Tu-154 fleet was increased at the start of the 1980s, while the first long-haul Ilyushin Il-62 was delivered back in 1979 (two of these aircraft are used in VIP configuration),<ref name="russianplanes.net"/> allowing Korean Airways to offer a direct non-stop service to Moscow for the first time, as well as serving Sofia and Belgrade.Template:Sfn

Alongside Soviet aircraft, North Korea also considered acquiring Concorde supersonic jets for Air Koryo under a plan by Kim Il Sung to boost the country's international prestige. North Korea and Aérospatiale and British AerospaceTemplate:SndConcorde's two European manufacturersTemplate:Sndsigned a preliminary purchase agreement with the country for two Concordes in 1979, but the deal never proceeded because of North Korea's economic challenges and Cold War tensions between East and West.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

21st century

Air Koryo office in Pyongyang

Interior of an Air Koryo Tupolev Tu-204

Air Koryo Tupolev Tu-204 at Pyongyang International Airport

The end of the Cold War and the collapse of communism in Eastern Europe saw a vast reduction in the number of international services offered. Korean Airways re-branded as Air Koryo on 28 March 1992, and in 1993, ordered three Ilyushin Il-76 freight aircraft to carry cargo to and from its destinations in China and Russia.<ref name="GlobSec">Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Air Koryo purchased a Tupolev Tu-204-300 aircraft in December 2007 and another in March 2010 to replace its aging international fleet. With the Tu-204, Air Koryo would be able to fly to Europe.<ref name="AirAsia">Air Koryo Template:Webarchive Asian Info, Retrieved 25 January 2015</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Due to safety and maintenance concerns, Air Koryo was added to the list of air carriers banned in the European Union in March 2006. The European Commission found evidence of serious safety deficiencies on the part of Air Koryo during ramp inspections in France and Germany. Air Koryo persistently failed to address these issues during other subsequent ramp inspections performed by the EU under the SAFA programme, pointing to blatant systemic safety deficiencies at Air Koryo operations. The airline failed to reply to an inquiry by the French Civil Aviation Authority regarding its safety operations, pointing to a lack of transparency or communication on the part of Air Koryo. The plan by Air Koryo for corrective action, presented in response to France's request, was found to be inadequate and insufficient. The EC also held that North Korean authorities did not adequately oversee the flag carrier, which it was obliged to do under the Chicago Convention. Therefore, on the basis of the common criteria,<ref name="EC">Fly Well portal Template:Webarchive (Which contains links to the common air transport policy), European Commission, 22 March 2006</ref> the Commission assessed that Air Koryo did not meet the relevant safety standards.<ref name="EC1">Commission Regulation (EC) No 474/2006 of 22 March 2006 Template:Webarchive (PDF-file), European Commission, 22 March 2006</ref>

In September 2009, Air Koryo ordered an additional Tupolev Tu-204-300 and a single Tupolev Tu-204-100. Air Koryo was to receive its first of two Tupolev Tu-204-100B aircraft fitted with 210 seats. Flights to Dalian in China were added to the Air Koryo schedule. Also, twice weekly Tu-134 flights from Pyongyang and direct services from Pyongyang to Shanghai Pudong were inaugurated with a two weekly service on JS522 and returning on JS523<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> in 2010.<ref name="jetphotos.net">Template:Cite web</ref>

In March 2010, Air Koryo was allowed to resume operations into the EU only with their Tu-204 aircraft, which were fitted with the necessary equipment to comply with mandatory international standards.<ref name="businessweek.com" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In April 2011, Air Koryo launched its first services to Malaysia with the inauguration of flights from Pyongyang to Kuala Lumpur.<ref>[1] Template:Webarchive</ref> The flights operated twice a week utilizing the Tu-204, but were cancelled in mid-2017 due to sanctions imposed resulting from the poisoning murder of Kim Jong-nam at Kuala Lumpur International Airport by suspected North Korean agents.<ref name="BBC News 2017">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2011, Air Koryo also inaugurated services to Kuwait City, being operated weekly by Tu-204 aircraft. The services operate during peak travel season – April to October.<ref name="almalekint.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2012, Air Koryo resumed flights to Kuala Lumpur but ceased the service in 2014 along with its expansion into Harbin, China.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 2012, Juche Travel Services, a company operating tours to North Korea, launched "aviation enthusiast" tours using chartered Air Koryo aircraft, which offered visitors the chance to fly on every type of Air Koryo aircraft within North Korea, the Mil-17, An-24, Tu-134, Tu-154, and Il-62. The international services were operated by An-148, Tu-154, or Tu-204.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2017, during the rule of North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un, there were signs that Air Koryo was branching out into commercial sectors beyond aviation, providing goods and services as diverse as petrol stations, taxis, tobacco, soft drinks, and tinned pheasant meat.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

As of 2021, two further Tupolev Tu-204-100B aircraft were allegedly prepared to be leased to Air Koryo.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, both have since been sighted with the name of Sky KG Airlines added on top of Air Koryo's colors and have been moved to Zhukovsky International Airport by Moscow, where they remain as of November 2023.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Intelligence and media reports suggest that North Korea might still be trying to acquire these two jets with Russian assistance as of November 2023.Template:Sfn

COVID-19 pandemic

Air Koryo was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. On 24 January 2020, the airline canceled several flights to ChinaTemplate:Sndto Macao, Shanghai, and ShenyangTemplate:Sndand on 1 February canceled its two remaining international routes to Beijing and Vladivostok.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> International flights remained canceled through August 2023, flying anew on 22 August to Beijing and on 25 August to Vladivostok using Tu–204 aircraft.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

The company flew to neighboring China to collect COVID-19-related supplies.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Destinations

Scheduled international services are only operated from Pyongyang to Beijing, Shenyang, and Vladivostok;Template:Sfn<ref name="timet1"/>Template:Sfn additional destinations not listed on their website, but showing up elsewhere as charters or seasonal charter services are also included.<ref name="korea-dpr.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="flightstats.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="flickr.com">Template:Cite web</ref>

The first regular charter flights between North Korea and South Korea began in 2003. The first Air Koryo flight operated by a Tu-154 touched down at Seoul's Incheon International Airport. Air Koryo operated 40 return services to Seoul, along with flights into Yangyang and Busan in South Korea.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Inter-Korean charters from Hamhung's Sondok Airport to Yangyang International in South Korea began in 2002.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Currently, there are no inter-Korean flights, due to laws in both countries. In 2014, Air Koryo operated a series of services to Seoul Incheon International Airport with Tu-204 and An-148 aircraft for the 2014 Asian Games held in Incheon.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref><ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

Air Koryo operated an airline interline partnership with Aeroflot (SkyTeam) on services radiating from Vladivostok and Pyongyang until 2017 when it was forced to close the agreement due to newly imposed sanctions.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Fleet

Current fleet

As of August 2025, Air Koryo operates the following fleet for international routes:Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Antonov-148-100B

Air Koryo fleet
Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers			Registration	Notes
			C	Y	Total
Antonov An-148-100B	2	—	8	62	70	P-671 P-672	Original order in 2013 was for two An-148s and one An-158.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ilyushin Il-62M
	2	—	VIP			P-881	Operated for the Government of North Korea.<ref name="russianplanes.net">Template:Cite web</ref> One plane in all-white livery used as personal transport for Kim Jong Un.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn
Tupolev Tu-154B	1	—	16	120	136	P-552	Operating as JS-271 to Vladivostok.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Tupolev Tu-204-100B	1	—	12	210	222	P-633	Former Red Wings Airlines aircraft acquired through a shell company.<ref name=russianplanes.net/>
Tupolev Tu-204-300	1	—	8	136	142	P-632	This particular aircraft was converted from a Tu-204-100.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Total	6	—

Historic, domestic routes fleet and unknown status

Aircraft	In service	Inactive	Notes
Template:No wrap	1	1	P-835 remains in service<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and is the last Il-18 in passenger operations worldwide. P-836 was converted to Il-18GrM by March 2001. In storage by August 2012 and was probably scrapped by September 2015.
Template:No wrap	1	2	P-561 remains in service. P-551 was reportedly retired in 2010, but had been repainted and returned to service in 2013; in storage since 2019. P-553 was retired in 2010 and is now at the Aviation Institute in the Son Yang district.
Tupolev Tu-134	2	0	P-813 and P-814 remain in service.
Antonov An-24	4	2	P-532, P-533 and P-537 remain in service. P-527 and P-534 probably became ground instructional airframes. P-528's status is unknown.
Ilyushin Il-76	3	0	P-912, P-913 and P-914 remain in service.
Lisunov Li-2	0	0	there was only one of Lisunov LI 2's in Air Koryo's fleet, which was owned by the Kim family. It was shot down in the 1950s

Air Koryo may have been planning to add either a Ilyushin Il-86 or Ilyushin Il-96 to its fleet, according to a 1993 timetable.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Tupolev Tu-204

The first Tupolev Tu-204-300 for Air Koryo was officially handed over to the carrier on 27 December 2007, and was ferried from Ulyanovsk to Pyongyang. It has been fitted out with 16 business class seats and the remaining 150 seats are economy. The Tu-204 aircraft are currently scheduled on all international flights out of Pyongyang. With the arrival of the new aircraft, a new seasonal route to Singapore was introduced and the Pyongyang-Bangkok route was resumed in 2008. Its first revenue-earning flight was made on 8 May 2008. Air Koryo operates another version of the Tu-204 jet, a Tu-204-100B, which they took delivery of on 4 March 2010. The Tu-204-300 is a shortened version of the Tu-204-100B.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It started operating scheduled services on 5 March 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On 30 March 2010, the two Tupolev Tu-204 have been given the rights to operate into the European Union.<ref name="businessweek.com">Template:Cite web</ref> The two Tu-204 remain the only planes the airline is allowed to operate on services to the EU.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Livery

The Air Koryo livery consisted of a white and grey fuselage and a horizontal stripe in national colors along the windows dividing the upper and lower parts into white and grey respectively. The Korean name Air Koryo is painted above the windows and a North Korean flag is painted on the vertical stabilizer.

Now most of their planes are painted in new livery. It consists of a full white body and grey belly which are divided with a thin red stripe. The name of the airline is painted in Korean in front and in English in the middle with the North Korean flag and registration on the vertical stabilizer.

In 2024, Air Koryo started changing its crane logo following Kim Jong Un's announcement, at the end of 2023, that North Korea will no longer seek reunification with South Korea. The old logo was a stylized crane whose wings resembled the Korean peninsula as a unified whole, while the crane wings of the new logo consist of tapered horizontal lines that no longer resemble the peninsula.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Accidents and incidents

• On 30 June 1979, a Korean Airways Tupolev Tu-154B sustained landing gear and wing damage at Budapest Ferihegy Airport in Hungary. On final approach to Runway 31, the pilot realised the plane would undershoot and brought the nose of the plane up without applying power. The aircraft stalled, and with a hard landing, the right landing gear collapsed, causing the right wing to strike the ground and sustain substantial wing structure damage. There were no fatalities, and aircraft P-551 was subsequently repaired and returned to service.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• On 1 July 1983, a CAAK Ilyushin Il-62M on a non-scheduled international passenger flight from Pyongyang, North Korea (Pyongyang Sunan International Airport) to Conakry, Guinea (Conakry International Airport) crashed in the Fouta Djallon Mountains in Guinea. All 23 people on board died, and the aircraft was written off.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• On 15 August 2006, Flight 152, a Tupolev Tu-154B (P-551) suffered a runway excursion while landing at Beijing Capital International Airport. Despite being officially retired in 2010, it was repainted and returned to service in 2013 and as of 2019 has been in storage.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Previously, in 1976, this aircraft had been taxiing when it was damaged by an Aeroflot Tu-104 that lost control and crashed during takeoff.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• On 22 July 2016, Flight 151, a Tupolev Tu-204-300 on a flight from Beijing to Pyongyang, made an emergency landing at Shenyang Taoxian International Airport due to reports of smoke in the cabin. The oxygen masks were deployed.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Bibliography

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Further reading

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:Official website
• Template:YouTube
• Air Koryo Virtual Tours by DPRK 360
• Swiss Website of Air Koryo at the Korean Friendship Association website Switzerland Delegation
• Air Koryo Template:Webarchive at the Aviation Safety Network Database
• CAAK (predecessor) Template:Webarchive at the Aviation Safety Network Database