North Korean national carrier Air Koryo begins direct flights from Pyongyang to Macau in August.
Civil Aviation Authority of Macao confirmed Air Koryo will operate flights between Pyongyang and Macao (Chinese special administrative region).
Flights will begin on August 2, 2019, and North Korea’s state-owned airline will fly to Pyongyang twice a week.
This is not a new route for Air Koryo, though. The airline flew between Pyongyang and Macau from 1996 to 2004.
Located approximately 1,368 miles from Pyongyang, Macau is on the western side of the Pearl River estuary in southern China. The destination also has an unofficial title as the “gambling capital of the world”.
North Korean flag carrier currently operates 3 international routes. Macau is Air Koryo’s fourth international destination and the third in China, besides Beijing and Shenyang. The airline also flies to Vladivostok in Russia.
It is not entirely clear how many aircraft are in Air Koryo’s fleet, as information varies from just four to 18 passenger aircraft, depending on a source. For instance, planespotters.net lists two Antonov An-148s and two Tupolev Tu-204s. Russianplanes.net, however, lists 18 aircraft as “active”, though some of them were last “seen” three to six years ago.