Air Koryo
Sunan airport
Air Koryo, the North Korean state-run airline based in Pyongyang and base on the Sunan Airport.
History
Since 1950, the airline SOKAO, a Soviet- North Korean joint venture, which was operated with Soviet equipment and aircrew. As the successor to the Choson Minhang ( 조선 민항 Kor. ,朝鲜 民航) was founded in 1954, which was renamed Air Koryo (JS) 1993. Air Koryo is under the Office of Civil Aviation. This in turn is part of the North Korean Air Force, all pilots are officers of the army. The flight operations began on 21 September 1955.
In 1958, the first domestic flight routes were established: Pyongyang Hamhung and Pyongyang, Chongjin. International services have been run since the late fifties, including up in the 1990s once a week with Ilyushin Il- 62M, the routes Pyongyang Berlin, Moscow and Pyongyang Pyongyang - Moscow -Sofia. In 1975, the company was established with a Tupolev Tu -154 their first jet aircraft in service. In Germany the airport Berlin- Schönefeld was occasionally served even after the end of the regular weekly approach as yet to turn of the millennium by Air Koryo, mostly for the transport of relief supplies or diplomats.
In March 2006, Air Koryo has been included in the list of operating bans for the airspace of the European Union and must not enter the airspace of Europe ever since. Previously the airline was to use French airspace has already been prohibited in April 2001 by the French aviation authority starts.
Beginning of 2008 launched a new first Tupolev Tu -204 -300 fleet. This is the first new-built aircraft by Air Koryo for many years. It has a variety of amenities such as LCD displays and currently serving the routes from Pyongyang to Beijing and Pyongyang Shenyang. Since April 2010 it is permitted under certain conditions the airline again to fly in the airspace of the EU with the machines of the Tupolev Tu -204. To certify the aircraft observers also a very good maintenance, and point out that there 'll be no striking accumulation of accidents.
Destinations
The regular flight schedule currently has three goals in East Asia: Beijing three times, twice Shenyang and Vladivostok once a week. Charter traffic there was in the past years to various destinations of southern Asia, including Macau, Beijing, Shenyang, Vladivostok and Bangkok. Flights to domestic destinations ( Hamhung, Chongjin, the Paektusan, Sinuiju and Wonsan ) are also carried out in the charter.
In addition, the company stands for occasional services available, such as for transport North Korean delegations traveling abroad. As part of the inter-Korean family reunions Air Koryo flew since 2000 several times to the South Korean capital, Seoul.
Fleet
As of January 2013, the fleet of Air Koryo aircraft consists of 21 with a mean age of 27.8 years: