In the modern world, air travel has become available in almost any country on the planet. However, there are still countries that are closed and isolated from the rest of the world. North Korea or, as it is also called, North Korea is a closed communist country, shrouded in a halo of mystery. International flights do not fly to Pyongyang Airport, and no transfers are made there either. You can visit it in only one way - the official tour, on an old turboprop airplane crowded with state security officers.
Closed country airport
DPRK is an amazing country. We can say that this is a real open-air museum of the Soviet Union. In this country, there is still a totalitarian communist regime, and an iron curtain. However, Pyongyang Airport, called Sunan, is considered an international air port. The North Korean side assures that the country's citizens are actively using air transportation, and the airport is always full of tourists. Unfortunately, this is nothing more than the appearance of normal operation of the air harbor of the North Korean capital.
The DPRK is a very poor country, and the vast majority of the population cannot afford even a taxi, not like flying to the resort by plane. It is forbidden even to move around the country without special passes, and the population of Pyongyang is the North Korean party elite, because according to local laws, the right to reside in the capital still needs to be earned. It is not surprising that the airport is in decline, because no one uses it. We can say that it is needed only for receptions of rare tourists from other countries and flights of the party elite.
Sunan, how you don't want to see him
Pyongyang Airport - this is the place where foreigners get, barely leaving the plane. Already on the basis of the appearance of the air harbor, we can conclude about the city or even about the country as a whole. The North Korean government, realizing that this is the case, specifically creates an artificial appearance of airline traffic congestion. People go to the airport, many even with suitcases. However, there are no flights on the arrivals board. Passengers avoid even looking in the direction of foreigners, and their characteristic gait makes them think that they are not serene travelers, but professional soldiers on a mission. Most likely, this is the case, because even on board an airplane that flies to the DPRK, state security officers are already present. They accompany the tourist every day. It is forbidden to walk alone in the city.
The situation is similar with an airport where there are no real passengers. All that tourists see is a well-rehearsed staging of normal passenger traffic. Unfortunately, this spoils the overall picture of what is happening in the country. From the very beginning, travelers see Sunan as they do not want to see him.
However, it can not do without exceptions even here. There are times when a large flow of tourists from South Korea and other countries to the DPRK, then the airport really comes to life, and on the scoreboard you can see as many as 5-6 flights!
Encodings
Pyongyang Airport has its own internal and international codes, but they will not be useful to passengers, because they will be brought to the side of the plane by state security officers. Self-registration for a flight and boarding the country's authorities will not allow. According to the IATA system, the airport has the code FNJ, and in ICAO it has ZKPY.
Tourists reviews
Reviews of Pyongyang Airport are very mixed. In this case, it all depends on the citizenship of a person and his worldview. Tourists from Malaysia note that this is a modern airport complex. However, travelers from China, Russia, the USA, Canada or any other developed countries note that the air harbor has enough problems. The old terminal, which was used before, was closed. The new passenger terminal undoubtedly looks much more beautiful, but at the same time it is very poor. If from the outside it still looks good, then inside everything leaves much to be desired.
Pyongyang Airport Address
For political reasons, the DPRK strives not to disclose the exact location of important infrastructure. The airport address cannot be found on Russian-language or English-language sites. Street names are not even signed on Google maps. However, you can find the airport complex at coordinates 3913'30 "N 12540'22" E.
However, an ordinary tourist will not need this, because you won’t have to puzzle over the question of how to get to Pyongyang Airport. It is impossible to come to the DPRK outside the tourist group, it is also impossible to get lost, because this is simply not allowed by the country's authorities.
The group guide will collect all the travelers in advance, and then the group will be transported centrally using specialized buses to the air station itself.
The planes that Koreans fly
An amazing feature of the DPRK is North Korean airlines. The entire fleet of aircraft consists exclusively of aircraft of Russian and Soviet production. Many of the cars have already undergone modernization and still fly properly. However, this does not negate the fact that the fleet consists of old ships.
This feature makes travelers from Russia feel like they are in the USSR, because most Russians have never flown with old Soviet planes, and this is a good opportunity to compare two aircraft schools - Western and Soviet.