About 400 Passengers On Board, 8-Hour Flight Time
Tickets Priced at 780,000 Won, Scheduled to Operate Once a Month
Close Ties Between the Two Countries Highlighted
According to reports from AFP and AP, the first direct passenger flight connecting Moscow, the capital of Russia, and Pyongyang, North Korea, took off as scheduled on the evening of the 27th (local time).
According to the website of Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport, the first direct flight to Pyongyang operated by Russian airline Nordwind departed from the airport at 7:25 p.m. local time on that day. Approximately 400 passengers were on board, and the flight duration is eight hours.
Nordwind Airlines set the ticket price for this flight at 45,000 rubles (780,000 won). The flight is operated with a Boeing 777-200ER, and tickets reportedly sold out quickly.
Vladimir Poteshkin, Russia's Minister of Transport, stated via Telegram, "For the first time in over 70 years of diplomatic relations, we are operating a direct flight between the capitals of our countries."
Russian news agency TASS reported that the return flight from Pyongyang to Moscow is scheduled to operate on the 29th.
Previously, last month, Nordwind Airlines requested approval from the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency for a twice-weekly direct route between Moscow and Pyongyang, and the agency granted approval on the 9th.
The Russian Ministry of Transport announced that, for now, flights between Moscow and Pyongyang will operate once a month, stating that this is "to create stable demand."
The operation of direct flights between Moscow and Pyongyang is seen as an effort to highlight the close relationship between Russia and North Korea. Until now, the only direct flights between Russia and North Korea were on the route between Vladivostok in Primorsky Krai and Pyongyang.
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