AIR Koryo has upgraded its sporadic charter service between Pyongyang and Shanghai (Pudong) to a regular twice-weekly service that took off on April 26.
The two-hour direct flight is a step up from previous air links between the two cities, which required travellers to change aircrafts in Beijing or Shenyang, in Liaoning province.
According to local media, travellers on the service are primarily Chinese tour groups, with the monuments and sights of the North Korean capital on their itineraries, including the ancient capital of Kaesong, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
While the Shanghai route is explicitly for Chinese tour groups, TTG Asia e-Dailyunderstands that technically if a foreigner in Shanghai joined up on a tour with a Chinese company and passed all the visa vetting arrangements, the traveller should be allowed to fly this route.
Air Koryo is using the Tupolev Tu-204 for the service, which is the most modern in its fleet.
The airline’s elderly fleet has been the subject of safety concerns and was banned from Europe’s skies in March 2006 after the EU found serious safety flaws with its operations.
