Air China said it will restart flights between Beijing and Pyongyang at the end of March, after passenger train service between the two countries resumed earlier this week, according to information posted on the airline’s website. The announcement came Saturday, with the airline setting the first flight date as March 30 and publishing a limited timetable tied to specific Mondays.
The schedule, as described on the website of the state-owned airline, calls for flights from China’s capital to North Korea’s capital every Monday from the March 30 start date through May 18. The site also indicated that the service would be reduced later, with flights operating on only two Mondays in June.
The flight plan follows a gradual shift in North Korea’s cross-border travel posture after years of severe restrictions linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, North Korea banned tourists, allowed diplomats to leave, and severely curtailed border traffic under what has been characterized as one of the strictest COVID-19 rules.
After easing curbs two years later, Pyongyang began reopening its borders slowly, including travel options for foreign visitors. North Korea’s Air Koryo resumed flights between the two capitals in 2023, according to the report.
In February 2024, North Korea accepted some Russian tourists for sightseeing visits, which surprised observers who expected the first post-pandemic tourists to come from China, Pyongyang’s biggest trading partner and major ally. North Korea later began welcoming other tourists as well, the report said.