Norwegian airline on the brink as government in Oslo rejects extra funding

Airline was target of £1bn bid from British Airways’ parent company, IAG, in 2018

Uncertain destination: Norwegian Boeing 737 Max carrying the image of transatlantic pioneer Sir Freddie Laker (Norwegian)

Norwegian, which built a global network of low cost flights from Gatwick airport, appears to be on the brink of collapse.

The airline, which could have sold out to IAG for £1bn, is facing what it calls a “challenging situation” after the government of Norway declined further financial support to help it contend with the coronavirus pandemic.

The Oslo stock exchange said: “NAS [Norwegian Air Shuttle] is currently evaluating the effects of the current situation with an aim to safeguard the interest of all stakeholders.”

Jacob Schram, the airline’s chief executive, said: “The fact that our government has decided to refrain from providing Norwegian with further financial support is very disappointing and feels like a slap in the face for everybody at Norwegian who is fighting for the company when our competitors are receiving billions in funding from their respective governments.”

British Airways’ parent company, IAG, sought to buy Norwegian in 2018 for around £1bn.

After rejecting the bid, Norwegian’s fortunes dwindled. In 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic, it lost NOK1.61bn (£134m) and carried 36 million people – a loss per passenger of £3.70.

The airline blamed the worldwide grounding of the Boeing 737 Max after two fatal crashes, and issues with Rolls Royce engines fitted to its Boeing 787 aircraft.

Norwegian has a large base at Gatwick, where it was previously the third-largest airline behind easyJet and British Airways. It also flies from Edinburgh and Manchester.

Were Norwegian to fold, it would be the biggest casualty so far among European airlines – and cost thousands of jobs in the UK and elsewhere.

At present most of Norwegian’s UK operations are grounded, though flights between Scandinavia and Gatwick are continuing.

Many thousands of customers are owed money for flights which did not take place, or have accepted vouchers for future trips.