In a world where most airlines are racing to modernize their fleets, one country is doing the exact opposite.
North Korea, often isolated from global trends, still operates planes that aviation enthusiasts would expect to see in museums, not cruising thousands of feet in the air.
It’s not just quirky—it’s a window into how the country continues to defy norms, even in the skies.
Meet Air Koryo, North Korea’s One and Only Airline
Air Koryo isn’t just North Korea’s national airline—it’s the only one they have.
From international routes to domestic hops and private charters, this airline handles it all.
But don’t expect glowing reviews. According to global airline rating agencies like Skytrax, Air Koryo holds a dismal one-star rating, mostly because of ongoing concerns about safety and outdated aircraft.
A Flying Museum in the Sky
Air Koryo has around 20 aircraft in its fleet, and some of them are genuinely modern.
Planes like the Tupolev Tu-204 and Antonov An-148 still hold up by international standards. But others are true throwbacks—like the Il-62, Tu-134, and even the vintage Il-18.
That Il-18 deserves a special mention. First flown in 1957, it’s a four-engine turboprop that most airlines retired in the 1970s.
Russia banned it for passenger use in 2002. Yet in North Korea, it still carries passengers through the clouds, slowly being replaced by newer jets but still hanging on longer than anywhere else on Earth.
Where You Can Fly—If You’re Allowed
Air Koryo advertises global reach, with offices in cities from Moscow to Toronto and Berlin to Macau.
But in reality, its active flight schedule is limited to just a handful of routes—mainly to Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai, and Vladivostok. The Beijing route is even shared with Air China.
All flights operate through Pyongyang’s international airport, which got a sleek new terminal in 2016 to replace a decades-old structure.
The terminal is modern, clean, and… nearly empty. That’s because North Koreans aren’t allowed to travel freely, and there’s no internet access for them to plan or book international trips.
On most days, only three or four flights take off from Pyongyang, and almost all of them are on Air Koryo planes.
The Safety Picture Isn’t What You’d Expect
Given the age of Air Koryo’s planes, you might assume its safety record is a disaster.
But oddly enough, it’s not. The airline has had just one known fatal crash, which happened during a flight to Guinea in West Africa.
An Il-62M crashed in the mountains, killing 23 people.
Aside from that, there have been a few runway mishaps involving jets like the Tu-204 and Tu-154B, but they ended without any loss of life.
In one notable 1976 incident, a Tu-154B landed in Irkutsk just as another plane crashed nearby—yet all passengers survived.
Old Planes, Low Traffic, Surprisingly Few Accidents
Air Koryo may have a reputation for being outdated and underwhelming, but the numbers show that it isn’t as unsafe as many think.
With so few flights and such tight control over operations, the airline has avoided the kind of disasters seen elsewhere in more chaotic airspaces.
So while Air Koryo may be flying relics of a bygone era, it’s still flying—and that in itself makes it one of the most unusual airlines in the world.