For the 10th time in a row, Air Koryo, North Korea's national airline, was named the world's worst airline in a Skytrax ranking.
Skytrax, London's prestigious aviation consulting agency, has awarded Air Koryo a star. Following the assessments made and based on the 10 criteria, the North Korean company received a seven star rating for most of them, including the fleet, services and meals served on board. Something better was the presentation of the cabin crew where it received three stars, but insufficient to reach the level of Syrianair, Iran Air or Merpati Nusantara Airlines, which have two stars.
I'm not surprised by the weak position of the company. Air Koryo owns a fleet of very old 16 aircraft, many of them believed to be from the '50 years, all of Russian origin: An-24 Antonov, An-148, Ilyushin II-18, Ilyushin II-62 and Tupolev You -134, You-154 and You-204. Air Koryo flies to 23 from Phenian base destinations, including Beijing, Shanghai and Dalian from China, Kuala Lumpur and Kuwait.
In March 2006, for security reasons, Air Koryo was added to the list of air carriers banned in the European Union.
In March 2010, Air Koryo was allowed to resume operations in the EU with Tu-204 aircraft, which were equipped with the necessary equipment to comply with mandatory international standards. All other Air Koryo aircraft continue to be banned at EU airports and EU airspace.