Russian aviation authority proposes regular flights to North Korea

Russia’s Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) has reportedly suggested that two Russian airlines begin operating regular flights to North Korea.

The business newspaper Kommersant reported on Monday that Rosaviatsiya sent this proposal to the Russian airlines Aeroflot and Aurora, and that the latter confirmed its “theoretically readiness” to operate such flights.

According to Kommersant, Russian tour operators have not received requests to resume tours to North Korea. Experts told the newspaper that the proposed flights to Pyongyang will likely be for business travel.

Kommersant also revealed that a Rosaviatsiya delegation visited North Korea in mid-November to coordinate this initiative with Pyongyang’s Civil Aviation Administration.

Aurora CEO Konstantin Sukhorebrik to Kommersant that the airline had confirmed to Rosaviatsiya the “technical feasibility” of operating flights to North Korea out of the Pacific port city of Vladivostok. Rosaviatsiya, Aeroflot, and Russia’s Transport Ministry declined to comment.

As Kommersant recalled, flights between Russia and North Korea resumed in August 2023 after being suspended in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. North Korea’s state-owned flag carrier Air Koryo currently operates flights to Vladivostok twice a week.