Air Koryo

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Air Koryo

Chosŏn'gŭl:	고려항공
Hanja:	高麗航空
McCune-Reischauer:	Koryŏ Hanggong
Revised Romanization:	Goryeo Hanggong

Air Koryo's Ilyushin Il-62M jetliner at Sunan International Airport.

Air Koryo Korean Airways (formerly Chosŏn Minhang, short form Air Koryo) is the state-owned airline of North Korea. It operates international services and occasional charter flights to points in Asia, Africa and Europe. It is based at Sunan International Airport (FNJ) in Sunan, a suburb north of Pyongyang. It has the distinction of being one of only two airlines to receive a 1-star rating (the worst possible on a 5-star scale) by Skytrax (the other is Afriqiyah Airways).

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.

1 Code Data
2 History
3 Destinations
4 Fleet
5 Incidents and accidents
6 Banned in the EU
7 References
8 External links

[edit] Code Data

IATA Code: JS
ICAO Code: KOR
Callsign: AIR KORYO^[1]

[edit] History

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. CAAK began operations with Lisunov Li-2, Antonov An-2 and Ilyushin Il-12 aircraft. Il-14 and 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 socialism 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.

[edit] Destinations

Air Koryo serves the following international scheduled destinations (according to Air Koryo March 2006 timetable and OAG flight guide):

China

Beijing (Beijing Capital Airport) (JS 151 and 152: Tuesday and Saturday, JS251 and 252: Thursday) three weekly flights
Shenyang (Shenyang Taoxian International Airport) (JS155 and 156) two weekly flights

Thailand

Bangkok (Suvarnabhumi International Airport) (JS153 and 154) one weekly flight

Russia

Vladivostok (Vladivostok International Airport) (JS271 and 272) one weekly flight

In the future, Air Koryo is also considering to fly Yanji as well. This route is under feasibility study.

The route to Vladivostok is subject to frequent cancellation because of low passenger numbers. Khabarovsk (JS253 and 254) in Russia is served on a seasonal basis, catering primarily for North Korean timber workers. Relatively common destinations for charter flights include Shenzhen (JS137 and 138), Macau (JS187 and 188). However, occasional ad hoc charter flights, mostly on diplomatic or freight duties, have served Moscow (JS215 and 216), Sofia (JS217 and 218), Zurich, Prague, Budapest, Seoul (JS815and 816/817 and 818), Busan, Yangyang (JS801 and 802) and some Japanese cities, mostly Nagoya (JS831 and 832) (NKM, Aichi Prefecture Nagoya Airfield).

The first regular charter flights between North Korea and South Korea began in 2002. The first Air Koryo flight to touch down in South Korea was in August 2000, carrying a North Korean diplomatic delegation for talks with the South.

As North Korea's sole aviation entity, Air Koryo is responsible for the overseas transportation of government officials. It claims to offer domestic services in addition to its international flights. It is believed that the only scheduled domestic flight is Pyongyang - Hamhung - Chongjin on a once weekly basis, though there is no reliable evidence to suggest that this is the case. Chronic fuel shortages are thought to keep the domestic services grounded. Most domestic flights are usually charter services, flying foreign tourists from Pyongyang to Samjiyeon for tours to Baektusan.

On 29 August 2005 Air Koryo was one of five airlines banned from entering French airspace on safety grounds by DGAC, the French civil aviation authority 1. As of 22 March 2006, Air Koryo, along with 92 other passenger and cargo airlines, was banned from entering EU airspace [1]. Air Koryo does not have an air operators certificate and is one of two airlines to carry a 1 star rating, according to Skytrax.

A list of other destinations:

Bangkok (BKK)
Berlin (SXF) - not yet available
Zurich (ZRH)

Domestic routes include:

P'yongyang (FNJ)
Chongjin
Hamhung
Kaesong
Kilju
Kanggye
Sinuiju
Wonsan

[edit] Fleet

The Air Koryo fleet includes the following aircraft (at August 2006):

2 Antonov An-24B - 1966 Soviet Union
3 Antonov An-24RV - 1974 Soviet Union
1 Ilyushin Il-18D - 1968 Soviet Union
1 Ilyushin Il-18V - 1965 Soviet Union
4 Ilyushin Il-62M 1979-1988 Soviet Union - 2 planes for government use only
3 Ilyushin Il-76MD cargo - 1990 Soviet Union
2 Tupolev Tu-134B3 - 1983 Soviet Union
1 Tupolev Tu-154B2 - 1983 Soviet Union
3 Tupol5v Tu-154B 1975-1977 Soviet Union^[2]

- On order: 2 Tupolev Tu-204 Russia

It is unknown, however, whether all the aircraft listed are still airworthy. Visitors to Pyongyang report several aircraft appearing to be 'in storage'.

[edit] Incidents and accidents

On July 1, 1983 a CAAK (predecessor to Air Koryo) Ilyushin 62M on a non-scheduled international passenger flight from Pyongyang, North Korea (Sunan International Airport) to Conakry, Guinea (Conakry International Airport) crashed at the Fouta Djall Mountains in Guinea. All 23 persons onboard were killed and the aircraft was written off.
On August 15, 2006 aircraft from Air Koryo (Tupolev 154B-2) on an international scheduled passenger flight from Beijing, China (Beijing Capital Airport) to Pyongyang, North Korea (Sunan International Airport) experienced a runway mishap (exited runway) during landing rollout after landing in bad weather at Sunan International Airport. No injuries were reported and damage to plane was minor.^[3]^[4]

[edit] Banned in the EU

Air Koryo is on the List of air carriers banned in the EU (as of July 2006).

The rationale for the decision by the European Commission was the following (paraphrased):

During ramp inspections in France and Germany there was obtained verified evidence of serious safety deficiencies on the part of Air Koryo. These deficiencies were also identified under the SAFA programme (DGAC/F 2000-210).
During other subesquent ramp inspections performed under the SAFA programme Air Koryo persistently failed to address these deficiencies which were previously communicated by France (DGAC/F-2000-895).
Incident-related information of a substantiated and serious nature communicated by France indicated that Air Koryo had latent systemic safety deficiencies.
There was a demonstrated lack of ability on the part of Air Koryo to address these safety deficiencies.
There was a failure on the part of Air Koryo to respond adequately and in a timely manner to an enquiry by the civil aviation authority of France regarding the safety aspect of its operation, which showed a lack of transparency or communication, which was also demonstrated by the absence of reply to a request by France.
The plan for corrective action presented by Air Koryo in response to France's request was not adequate and sufficient in order to correct the identified serious safety deficiencies.
The authorities of the DPRK (North Korea) with responsibility for regulatory oversight have not exercised an adequate oversight over Air Koryo, which it is obliged to do under the Chicago Convention.
Therefore and on the basis of the common criteria^[5] the Commission assessed that Air Koryo does not meet the relevant safety standards.^[6]