The flag carrier of North Korea, Air Koryo, has conducted its first international flight since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Flight JS151 – operated by a Tupolev Tu-204-100B – departed Pyongyang/Sunan bound for Beijing/Capital on August 22.
According to flight tracking data from Flightradar24, the jet, P-633 (c/n 1450741964048) reached an enroute cruising altitude of 30,100ft.
While it’s not clear how many passengers were onboard the flight, the 14-year-old Russian-built twinjet is configured to seat 222 passengers in a two-class layout.
JS151 touched down in the Chinese capital at around 9.16am local time (01.16 GMT).
The return flight, JS152, departed Beijing at approximately 1.05pm bound for the North Korean capital.
Air Koryo was expected to operate its first international flight on Monday (August 21), but abruptly cancelled the service without notice. According to the Guardian, almost two hours after its scheduled arrival time in the Chinese capital, boards in the terminal showed it as cancelled, prompting groans of disappointment from those waiting to see the country’s first international travellers in years.
The North Korean flag carrier operates a fleet of four aircraft including a pair of Tu-204s and two Antonov An-148-100Bs.
