Soviets Open Sky to Korea Jetliners During Olympics

The Soviet Union will allow South Korean airliners to fly through its airspace for three weeks to help cut travel time by up to 4 1/2 hours for European athletes taking part in the Seoul Olympic Games, a South Korean Transport Ministry spokesman said today.

He said Korean Air Lines, South Korea’s national carrier, would be able to use Soviet airspace from next Monday until Oct. 4 on routes between Seoul and some European cities.

In 1983, a KAL jumbo jet was shot down by Soviet fighter planes after it strayed over the Soviet northern Pacific island of Sakhalin. All 269 people on board were killed.