Think of any Korean airline. We have Korean Air and Asiana, but we also have some low-cost carriers such as Air Premia, Jin Air, Air Seoul, and so much more. However, these carriers are all from South Korea. On the North side of Korea, there is one airline that serves the current country of North Korea, it being Air Koryo (고려항공 in Korean). Today, we will be looking in-depth into what this airline is.

The Only Airline in the North

Air Koryo is the flag carrier of North Korea, the country that Kim Jung Eun dictates. It has an all-Soviet or Russian fleet of 6 aircraft, including two Ilyushin Il-62s used by the Kim family. 

It currently only operates international flights to neighboring and supporting countries, such as China and Russia, as chartered flights, as there is not enough demand for a scheduled basis.

The fleet of six aircraft consists of two Tupolev Tu-204s, two Antonov An-148s, and the two Ilyushin Il-62Ms above, operated by the Kim family. The Il-62Ms are special in being called Air Force One or Two (depending on whether Kim Jung Eun is on board).

The Air Koryo fleet used to be much more diverse, ranging from the ancient Antonov An-24 to the large Ilyushin Il-76. These aircraft are considered stored, as they have not been officially and unofficially flown for a long time. Their fate is unknown for obvious reasons.

Due to North Korea facing worldwide sanctions from the U.S. and EU, it is not allowed to operate any Western aircraft, such as those from Boeing and Airbus. 

It is said that Kim Jung Ill, the father of Kim Jung Eun, tried acquiring new Western aircraft but failed to do so. Instead, they rely on Soviet and newer Russian aircraft. However, even those aircraft seem hard for them to acquire as they have to smuggle them into the country secretly. 

In 2021, two Tu-204s were grounded at an unspecified airport due to concerns that they were to be acquired and used by Air Koryo in the following weeks. These Tu-204s were eventually transferred to Sky KG, a Kyrgyzstan airline.

Unfortunately, Air Koryo does not have a frequent flyer program for those who frequently travel in and out of North Korea. 

Interestingly, however, the Air Koryo lounge at Pyongyang International Airport (FNJ) is surprisingly a Star Alliance partner lounge, so Star Alliance Gold members or business class passengers on board Star Alliance flights, as well as Business Class passengers flying Air Koryo, can enter the lounge. 

This mostly seems to be because Air China used to fly to Pyongyang on a scheduled basis before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Who Flies on Air Koryo?

For obvious reasons, no one is allowed to fly on Air Koryo. However, more than half of all Air Koryo flights involve foreigners visiting the country for various reasons. 

As North Korean citizens are usually not allowed even to leave their own city, it is very hard for a normal citizen to travel abroad if there is not an extremely important reason to do so. 

Thus, most North Koreans who board Air Koryo are either crew members or government officials on a mission to a foreign country.

Credit cards are not an option for booking a flight on Air Koryo as Mastercard, Visa, and American Express are all US-based companies.

JCB and UnionPay are also not accepted, potentially due to international relations. One has to wire transfer money to the airline directly or use a travel agency to manage travel to North Korea.

One notable case was in 2015 when Daniel Oloma of Kenya accidentally landed at Pyeongyang Sunan International Airport (now known simply as Pyongyang International Airport) on an Air Koryo flight. 

Oloma, an entrepreneur in livestock farming, was supposed to attend a UN biodiversity conference in Pyeongchang, the city famous for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. 

Instead, due to a mistake made by a travel agency agent, he was flown to Pyongyang, which has a similar and confusing English spelling. After deboarding the Air Koryo flight, Oloma was detained at the airport for not having a proper visa to enter the country (Oloma had a visa to enter South Korea instead). 

He had to pay 500 dollars in fines for trying to enter the country without a visa and was sent to Beijing on another flight. He was eventually able to enter South Korea without further incident.

Routes

Due to the nature of its home country, Air Koryo operates very limited routes only to international destinations, specifically China and Russia. According to the Air Koryo homepage, it operates to the following destinations as chartered flights.

Most flights are operated by Tu-204s, except for flights to Shenyang, where sometimes an An-148 is used instead.

While Air Koryo does not have any domestic flights, it does operate them on special occasions, such as when the Wonsan Air Show is hosted. Other special occasions involve the birth of quadruplets. 

The birth of quadruplets is considered a sign that a country would prosper, so the government sends an Air Koryo aircraft to the city where they were born and takes them and the mother to the Pyongyang Maternity Hospital, where they will receive intensive care.

There have also been extremely exceptional cases where an Air Koryo aircraft landed in South Korea's territory. This is mostly seen when international games are hosted in South Korea, where the North and South participate simultaneously. 

These Air Koryo flights, including North Korean Air Force One and Two, always land at Incheon International Airport (ICN) as domestic South Korean flights because the South Korean government considers North Korea its territory. 

However, as Incheon International Airport only serves international flights, and the special relations between the South and North Korean governments, Air Koryo flights are treated as international flights under "Special Domestic Flights."

Air Koryo also used to fly to other international destinations such as Japan, Malaysia, and Kuwait. It also flew to East Berlin decades ago. These were all banned after the heightened sanctions against North Korea in recent years.

After Unification?

If, given the current circumstances, two Koreas successfully united in the future, it is most likely that Air Koryo would dissolve due to aging aircraft and a preference for Western aircraft over Soviet and Russian aircraft. Most aircraft are expected to be scrapped or sent to aviation museums for preservation. 

Korean Air or other South Korean airlines are expected to take over Air Koryo's routes. However, it is also possible that Air Koryo will continue to operate as an airline covering northern Korea, albeit with newer-generation aircraft under its brand.