The World's 'Worst Airline' In North Korea Actually Isn't Half Bad

Aram Pan/DPRK360Air Koryo, the state-owned airline run by the North Korean government, has regularly been called the "world's worst airline." The airline is the only one in the world to have a "one star" rating on airline rating website Skytrax, thanks to its aging planes, perfunctory stewardesses, barely edible food, and propaganda handed out onboard.

But as the DPRK ramps up its tourism sector, are things still as bad as people say?

Photographer Aram Pan recently flew aboard one of Air Koryo's Ilyushin Il-18s. Pan, who has flown in and out of Pyongyang many times, had never flown on one of Air Koryo's older propeller planes.

"It was an experience I will remember for a long, long time," he tells Business Insider.

The Il-18, first operated by the Soviet Union's national airline Aeroflot in 1957, served as the workhorse airliner for the superpower for the much of the Cold War. These days, with Aeroflot's fleet dominated by Boeings and Airbuses, only in North Korea can you still fly on the Soviet Unions Cold War relics.

While the fixtures on the airliner seemed rudimentary compared to today's standards, Pan arrived at his destination in one piece, surviving to share these photos with us. For more photos of North Korea by Aram Pan, visit his Facebook page.