Air China to resume direct flights to North Korea on March 30

Air China airplane at Seoul Military Airport in Seongnam, South Korea, on July 4, 2014. (AP / Lee Jin-man)

Air China will resume direct flights between Beijing and Pyongyang from March 30, according to tour agencies and the state-owned carrier’s website, after train services between the two capitals resumed last week.

China is North Korea’s largest trading partner and a vital source of diplomatic, economic and political support for the isolated nuclear state.

However, travel between the East Asian neighbours has been heavily curtailed since 2020 under strict border closures during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Flight CA121 is scheduled to leave Beijing Capital Airport at 8:05 am (0005 GMT) on March 30 and arrive in Pyongyang at 11 am (0200 GMT), according to Air China’s website.

A return flight is scheduled for 12 pm the same day.

The flight is scheduled each Monday, with economy class tickets from Beijing available for between 2,340 yuan and 2,930 yuan (US$339-US$425).

China fully reopened its borders in 2023, but North Korea has been much more cautious.

The North’s state-run Air Koryo restarted flights from Beijing to Pyongyang in 2023.

Passenger train services linking the two capitals were restarted on Thursday after a six-year pause.

Young Pioneer Tours, which specialises in travel to North Korea, said it had received confirmation from Air China that the flights from Beijing to Pyongyang would resume, its tour manager Rowan Beard told AFP.

“Air China resuming its route to Beijing opens Pyongyang up to more accessible connections,” he said.

“Previously, Air China also operated flights on Wednesdays and Fridays, so there is a possibility that additional services could be added again in the near future.”

Chinese travel agencies have begun advertising tour packages to North Korea on social media, although there has been no official confirmation of the resumption of tourism.

The first passengers are likely to be students, workers, and those with family ties across the border.

While the announcement of flights was “promising” for tourism, “there is still no further confirmation regarding Western tourists”, Beard said.

Some foreign tourists visited North Korea in April 2025 to attend the first Pyongyang Marathon since 2019.

However, this year’s edition was abruptly cancelled last week “due to some reasons”, according to a message from North Korean athletics authorities.