Summary
- North Korea’s Air Koryo landed its first international industrial flight in Beijing since 2020, signaling a slow reopening of the country’s borders.
- The flight, JS151, departed from Pyongyang and arrived at Beijing Capital International Airport at around 9:17 AM local time.
- While the passengers’ identities are usually not confirmed, speculation suggests that the flight can have transported stranded North Koreans in China back to their home country. Air Koryo can be planning inaugural flights to Vladivostok, Russia, later this week.
Air Koryo operated its first international service in three years, flying to Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK) from Pyongyang International Airport (FNJ). This got here after the carrier scuppered plans for a similar service the day before suddenly, leaving many confused.
The arrival information board on the airport displayed that North Korea’s Air Koryo flight JS151 arrived at around 9:17 AM at PEK. This marks the primary international industrial flight for Air Koryo since early 2020, following the closure of borders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from Flightradar24.com indicates that the flight took off from the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, at around 08:30 local time.
Photo: FlightRadar24.com
The passengers’ identities weren’t clear yet; nevertheless, Western tour corporations that operated in North Korea speculated that this is likely to be a special flight intended to move back North Koreans who had been stranded in China as a result of the prolonged border closures.
Unexpected cancelation on the day before today
On the day before today, August twenty first, the highly anticipated Air Koryo’s first industrial flight in three years was scheduled to depart from Pyongyang Airport around 08:15. It was planned to reach at PEK at roughly 09:50. Nonetheless, two hours later, the airport’s arrival information board displayed that flight JS151 had been labeled as canceled. PEK stated that Air Koryo had not explained the unexpected flight cancelation.
Later the identical day, during a routine press briefing held by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, an Agence France-Presse journalist inquired with the Foreign Ministry spokesperson in regards to the reasons for the flight cancelation and when North Korea might reopen its borders.
The initial flight is scheduled for this upcoming Friday, August twenty fifth, while the second is ready for Monday, August twenty eighth. Each flights shall be operated using the airline’s Tupolev Tu-204 aircraft, and tickets have already been available on its website.