 Air Koryo : Air Koryo Korean Airways (formerly Chosŏn Minhang (조선민항), short form Air Koryo) is the state-owned national airline of North Korea, based in Pyongyang. It operates international services and occasional charter flights to points in Asia, Africa and Europe. It is based at Sunan International Airport[1] in Sunan, a suburb north of Pyongyang.
The Head Office of Air Koryo is located in the Sunan district, Pyongyang, and it has offices in Beijing, Shenyang, Macau, Bangkok, Berlin, Moscow, as well as a sales agency in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.
History of Air Koryo
The airline was established in 1954 and started operations on 21 September 1955. It was formerly known as Chosonminhang Korean Airways (CAAK) and was formed to succeed SOKAO, the joint Soviet-North Korean airline established in 1950[1]. CAAK began operations with Lisunov Li-2, Antonov An-2 and Ilyushin Il-12 aircraft. Ilyushin Il-14 and Ilyushin Il-18 turboprops were added to the fleet in the 1960s.
Jet operation commenced in 1975, when the first Tupolev Tu-154 was delivered for services from Pyongyang to Prague, East Berlin and Moscow. However, because the Tu-154 did not have the sufficient range, the plane had to land not only at Irkutsk, but also at Novosibirsk. The Tu-154 fleet was increased at the start of the 1980s and the first Ilyushin Il-62 was delivered in 1982, allowing CAAK to offer a direct non-stop service to Moscow for the first time. During this period, the flight even went to Sofia as well.
The end of the Cold War and the collapse of communism in Europe saw a vast reduction in the number of international services offered. CAAK became Air Koryo in 1993. No new aircraft have been purchased since 1990 and the present fleet is elderly, with some aircraft being almost 40 years old. |
