After a six-year break, Air China resumed direct flights between Beijing and Pyongyang on Monday. This is another indication that North Korea is progressively opening up after train service between the two cities resumed.
As North Korea’s biggest economic partner and a crucial source of political and diplomatic support, China has served as a lifeline for the country’s flagging economy.
Although access to North Korea has always been severely restricted, the country was virtually cut off when it sealed its borders during the epidemic in 2020.
According to FlightStats data, flight CA121 took off from Beijing Capital Airport at 7:58 am (2358 GMT on Sunday) and landed at Sunan International Airport in Pyongyang at 10:37 am (0137 GMT).
The plane was a Boeing 737-700 with capacity for up to 128 passengers, according to travel website Trip.com, though only travellers with business, study or other special purposes can make the cross-border journey.
China’s ambassador to North Korea Wang Yajun and other Chinese diplomats greeted the passengers at the airport, Xinhua news agency said.
Earlier, AFP journalists saw travellers at Beijing’s bustling airport forming a snaking queue to check in their luggage with the airline.
Pyongyang-bound business traveller Zhao Bin showed reporters his air ticket, and expressed optimism that tourism would resume for Chinese visitors.
“I expect both railway routes and Air China flights will increase, and there will be more exchanges and travel between people,” said Zhao, who will be spending around a week in North Korea.
He has visited North Korea multiple times, most recently in 2024, and said that the resumption of the flight route will offer “greater convenience to those of us who frequently travel between Beijing and Pyongyang”.
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