Major Russian airline says it has received OK to fly over North Korea

Russia’s largest private airline says it has received permission to fly over North Korea, currently operating two routes that cross through the country’s usually restricted airspace. A spokesperson for S7 Airlines said on Wednesday that the firm has relied on North Korean airspace for its Vladivostok-Shanghai route since last November, confirming previous NK News reporting. S7 also flies over North Korea on its Bangkok-Vladivostok route, the representative told NK News. “Permission to use North Korea's airspace was obtained through standard procedures for ensuring transit flights,” the spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The routes were “determined by operational efficiency” and “designed based on North Korea's aeronautical information,” they added, stressing that the move follows “international procedures and standards, with strict compliance with flight safety requirements.” NK News reported in Nov. 2025 that S7 had started flying directly over North Korea on the Vladivostok-Shanghai route, rather than detouring through Chinese airspace like other foreign airlWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times