World's worst airline: N. Korean carrier hopes to expand

Nancy Trejos | USA TODAY

The world's worst airline is expanding--if it can get its website to work.

North Korea's Air Koryo is reportedly planning to expand to Southeast Asia and Europe despite international sanctions against the communist state.

Never mind that the airline is banned from flying into European Union airspace.

And that it is the only airline in the world to have a one-star rating on review site Skytrax.

According to the London Telegraph, a tourism official announced through North Korean state media Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) that the country hopes to attract more tourists by promising new flights to Pyongyang.

Right now, Air Koryo's network is limited to Beijing and Shenyang in China and Vladivostok in Russia.

"Abundant in tourism resources, the North has a bright future to develop tourism," Jo Song Gyu, director of the state-run International Travel Company, said last month in a meeting with overseas travel companies from the UK, Germany, and other countries, according to the Telegraph.

Koryo Tours, a British-run, Beijing-based travel company that runs tours to North Korea, said the country will now be open to tourists year-round. Previously, the borders have closed to visitors from mid-December to mid-January, the company says.

Koryo Tours says on its website that it plans to run a group tour over New Year's Eve, which will include a trip to the DMZ.

"Last year on New Year's Day, a huge fireworks display was staged in Pyongyang," the company says. "We expect this to happen again as well as other celebratory events."

The airline has been trying to get more exposure in recent years. It has a Facebook page. And last year, it launched a bilingual website.

The website has been widely panned for not being very functional.

This afternoon, it was not functioning at all.