Air Koryo is the state-owned national flying airline in North Korea, which is only communist-related.
History[]
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. CAAK was re-branded as Air Koryo in March 1992 and in 1993, ordered three Ilyushin Il-76 freight aircraft to carry cargo to and from its destinations in China and Russia.
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.
The late 1990s and early 2000s would prove to be a turbulent and difficult time for the airline; two separate accidents in Fukuoka in 1996 and Medan in 1997 added to the problems being caused by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, resulting in a drastic reduction in operations, including the termination of service to the Americas and a massive scaling back of its European operations. Largely due to historical links with the Netherlands, Garuda continued to operate flights to Amsterdam, Frankfurt and London after the initial cutbacks, although these flights were also discontinued on 28 October 2004. The situation was exacerbated by the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S., the Bali bombings, the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and the SARS scare, all of which contributed to a downturn in air travel and Indonesian tourism.
Due to safety and maintenance concerns, Air Koryo was added to the list of air carriers banned in the European Union in March 2006, involving the Garuda Indonesia and AirAsia. 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, the Commission assessed that Air Koryo did not meet the relevant safety standards.
In June 2007, the EU also banned Garuda Indonesia, along with all other Indonesian airlines, from flying into any European countries, following the crash of flight 200 earlier that year. With the support of the international aviation industry for all Indonesian airlines, the EU promised to review its ban and sent a team of experts, led by the European Commission's Air Safety Administrator Federico Grandini to Indonesia to consider lifting the ban. In August 2007, the transportation minister of Indonesia announced that the EU would lift its ban hopefully sometime in October, stating that the ban was attributed to communication breakdown between the two parties and that discussions were in progress.
In November 2007, Garuda announced its intention to fly to Amsterdam from Jakarta and Denpasar with either Airbus A330 or Boeing 777 aircraft if the EU lifted its ban, however, on 28 November 2007, the EU stated that the safety reforms already undertaken were a step in the right direction for the EU to consider lifting the ban, but still did not satisfy the EU's aviation safety standards, and thus, did not lift its ban. The ban was lifted in July 2009, after which Garuda began evaluating service to Amsterdam and other European destinations, as well as the United States.
Following the lifting of the EU ban against Garuda Indonesia and three other Indonesian carriers, the airline announced in July 2009 an aggressive five-year expansion plan known as the Quantum Leap. The plan involved an image overhaul, including changing the airline's livery, staff uniform and logo, and nearly doubling the size of its fleet from 62 to 116. The Quantum Leap also plans to boost passenger annual numbers to 27.6 million in the same period, up from 10.1 million at the time of program launch through increasing domestic and international destinations from 41 to 62. Route expansions included Amsterdam, with a stopover in Dubai, in 2010. As of 2014, Garuda flies to Amsterdam non-stop five times a week using a Boeing 777-300ER with continuing service to London, with the sixth weekly service to be added by the end of 2015. Other European and American cities such as Frankfurt, Paris, Rome, Madrid and Los Angeles are being considered for reopening.
In March 2010, Air Koryo was allowed to resume operations into the EU with their Tu-204 aircraft, which were fitted with the necessary equipment to comply with mandatory international standards. Currently, the Tu-204 is the only aircraft Air Koryo operates that is allowed into EU airspace. In April 2011, Air Koryo launched its first services to Malaysia with the inauguration of flights from Pyongyang to Kuala Lumpur 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 Int'l Airport by suspected North Korean agents.
Destinations[]
- North Korea
- Chongjin (Chongjin Airport)
- Haeju (Haeju Airport)
- Hamhung (Hamhung Airport)
- Hyesan (Hyesan Airfield)
- Kaesong (Kaesong Airport)
- Kanggye (Kanggye Airport)
- Kilju (Kilju Airport)
- Nampo (Nampo Airport)
- Pyongyang (Sunan Airport) Hub
- Samjiyon (Samjiyon Airport)
- Wonsan (Wonsan Airport)
- Russia
- Moscow (Sheremetyevo Airport)
Terminated destinations[]
- Czech Republic
- Prague (Ruzyně Airport)
- Germany
- Berlin (Schonefeld Airport)
- Hungary
- Budapest (Ferihegy Airport)
- Serbia
- Belgrade (Nikola Tesla Airport)
Fleet[]
- Antonov An-24 (3)