First direct flight from Moscow to Pyongyang carries more than 400 passengers

Bình Nhưỡng - Ảnh 1. — Passengers check in at Sheremetyevo International Airport, Russia, before a flight to Pyongyang, North Korea on the evening of July 27. Photo: RIA NOVOSTI

According to the Russian news agency RIA, the Russian delegation led by Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Aleksandr Kozlov and the crew members were presented with flowers as soon as they landed at Pyongyang airport at 9:30 a.m. on July 28.

The website of Sheremetyevo International Airport (Moscow) said the flight operated by Nordwind Airlines departed the airport at 7:25 p.m. on July 27, carrying more than 400 passengers. The flight time was 8 hours.

Throughout the flight, announcements were made in two languages: Russian and Korean.

Nordwind Airlines opened ticket sales for the Moscow-Pyongyang flight on July 18 for nearly 45,000 rubles (nearly $580). The flight was operated on a Boeing 777-200ER and tickets were quickly sold out.

"After more than 70 years of establishing diplomatic relations, for the first time our two capitals are connected by direct flights," Russian Transport Minister Vladimir Poteshkin wrote on Telegram.

A Nordwind airline employee called it a “historic event aimed at strengthening relations between the two countries.”

Russia's TASS news agency said the flight from Pyongyang to Moscow is scheduled to take place on July 29.

Last month, Nordwind applied to open a direct Moscow-Pyongyang route with a frequency of two flights per week, and was approved by the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) on July 9.

However, the Russian Ministry of Transport said that the route will only be operated once a month for now, in order to "evaluate and create stable demand".

The opening of a direct flight between Moscow and Pyongyang is seen as a sign of increasingly close Russia-North Korea relations.

Previously, the only direct flight between the two countries was from Vladivostok (in Russia's Far East) to Pyongyang.

Russia is considering opening direct flights to the North Korean coastal tourist city of Wonsan, where the country opened the Wonsan-Kalma coastal tourist area late last month to attract international tourists.

According to Yonhap News Agency, after signing a "comprehensive strategic partnership" treaty last year, Russia and North Korea have continuously increased cooperation in the field of transportation.

On April 30, the two countries started construction of a car bridge across the Tumen River - a direct road route connecting Russia and North Korea.

Last month, the two sides also restored direct train services between Moscow and Pyongyang and the Khabarovsk region and Pyongyang, which had been suspended since 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Source: https://tuoitre.vn/chuyen-bay-thang-dau-tien-tu-matxcova-den-binh-nhuong-cho-theo-hon-400-hanh-khach-20250728133119499.htm