Air China to Resume Flights to Pyongyang in May

BEIJING (Sputnik) — The Air China airline will resume regular flights between Beijing and the North Korean capital of Pyongyang about three weeks after suspending air traffic earlier in April, the company told Sputnik on Tuesday.

"It is now possible to buy Beijing-Pyongyang tickets as normal. Air China will make two weekly trips from Beijing to Pyongyang every Monday and Friday starting from May 5, 2017," a company representative said.

Air China, which is China's flag carrier airline, was reported to have suspended flights to Pyongyang starting April 17 just as tensions escalated on the Korean Peninsula. The company later said air traffic did not stop and it had just temporarily canceled some flights based on the situation of ticket sales.

Air China was the only international airline company that was operating flights to North Korea, but air traffic between the two countries continues via the North Korean carrier Air Koryo, which services flights to Beijing and Dandong close to the Korean border.

April's flight suspension took place as US officials announced that an aircraft carrier strike group was sent to the Korean peninsula amid rising tensions in anticipation of a recurrent nuclear bomb test by Pyongyang.