Press release -

Norwegian’s passengers donate more than £130,000 to UNICEF

Norwegian’s passengers have been in a generous mood by donating more than £130,000 to UNICEF’s work for children.

Low-cost airline Norwegian flies from Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester and Edinburgh airports and UK passengers have been among the many customers donating money when purchasing flights online between June and October. A partnership between UNICEF, travel technology company Amadeus and Norwegian has made the donations possible.

In November, Norwegian and UNICEF will send an aircraft fully loaded with emergency aid and school supplies from Oslo, Norway to Amman, Jordan to help Syrian children living in the world’s second largest refugee camp, Za’atari. All donations made by passengers in October will be used to help fill the airplane with school supplies and emergency aid to Syrian refugee children.

A simple click when finishing their ticket purchase is all it takes for passengers to donate a small amount to UNICEF - customers will have the option to donate £3, £5, £10 or £15 when they book their tickets. UK passengers can also directly donate to the ‘Help us fill a plane!’ initiative through Norwegian and UNICEF’s campaign site: https://www.unicef.no/fly

Norwegian CEO Bjørn Kjos said: “I would like to thank our passengers for their generosity. The total amount of more than £130,000 shows that a small contribution from many passengers will help children get the future they deserve.

“We are eager to do whatever we can to help the dispersed refugee children of Syria, and our signature partnership with UNICEF makes this possible. We will provide an aircraft and crew so that we can carry emergency aid and school supplies. We encourage our customers and partners to contribute to preventing a lost generation of Syrian children.”

Bernt G. Apeland, Executive Director of UNICEF Norway, said: "This shows the Norwegian customers’ dedication to making the world a better place for children. It also shows that it is easier to support our work when it is easy to make donations, the way Amadeus and Norwegian have enabled customers to donate online. I would like to thank both companies and all customers for their contribution.

“The refugee children of Syria have lost everything. That’s why we encourage everybody to help us fill a plane with relief items that go directly to children in need. Together we can make sure these children get the future they deserve and prevent a lost generation.”

Tomás López Fernebrand SVP, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Amadeus IT Group said: “Such a large amount of donations in the first months shows how much can be achieved when the travel sector and humanitarian causes work together. Using this example for inspiration, we ask our travel industry partners to consider the enormous potential for similar worthy outcomes by using this technology – which we are pleased to offer free of charge.”

Norwegian and UNICEF have had a signature partnership since 2007 – initiatives have included flying emergency aid to the Central African Republic and arranging fundraisers on board. In addition, Norwegian donates money to UNICEF as an alternative to giving its employees a Christmas present.

Media Contacts:

  • UNICEF: Communication Advisor, Synnøve Aspelund: +47 938 25 002
  • Amadeus: Corporate Communications Manager, Roman Townsend: +34 616 318 037 / roman.townsend@amadeus.com

Topics

Categories

Norwegian in the UK:

  • Norwegian first launched UK flights in 2003 and is Europe’s third largest low-cost airline. The carrier operates from London Gatwick, Edinburgh, Birmingham and Manchester Airports to 34 destinations worldwide.
  • Norwegian is the third largest airline at London Gatwick, with 3.4 million yearly passengers as of June 2015, and with 130 pilots and 300 cabin crew working from its Gatwick base
  • In 2014, Norwegian introduced the UK’s first low-cost, long haul flights to the U.S. flying directly from Gatwick to New York, Fort Lauderdale and Los Angeles
  • Norwegian is the only airline to offer free inflight WiFi on UK flights to 29 European destinations
  • The airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world with an average age of four years, including next-generation Boeing 787 Dreamliners and Boeing 737-800s
  • Norwegian has been voted ‘Europe’s best low-cost carrier’ by passengers for three consecutive years at SkyTrax World Airline Awards, and was also the first airline to be awarded the ‘World's best low-cost long-haul airline’ in 2015 by SkyTrax.

Contacts

For journalists only

For journalists only

Press contact Norwegian Press Office +47 815 11 816
Marketing/sponsorhip requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Marketing/sponsorhip requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Press contact Marketing/sponsorship requests: marketing@norwegian.com

Norwegian.com

The Norwegian group is a leading Nordic aviation company, headquartered at Fornebu outside Oslo, Norway. The company has over 8,200 employees and owns two of the prominent airlines in the Nordics: Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe’s Flyveselskap. Widerøe was acquired by Norwegian in 2024, aiming to facilitate seamless air travel across the two airline’s networks.

Norwegian Air Shuttle, the largest Norwegian airline with around 4,700 employees, operates an extensive route network connecting Nordic countries to key European destinations. In 2023, Norwegian carried over 20 million passengers and maintained a fleet of 87 Boeing 737-800 and 737 MAX 8 aircraft.

Widerøe’s Flyveselskap, Norway’s oldest airline, is Scandinavia’s largest regional carrier. The airline has more than 3,500 employees. Mainly operating the short-runway airports in rural Norway, Widerøe operates several state contract routes (PSO routes) in addition to its own commercial network. In 2023, the airline had 3.3 million passengers and a fleet of 48 aircraft, including 45 Bombardier Dash 8’s and three Embraer E190-E2's. Widerøe Ground Handling provides ground handling services at 41 Norwegian airports.

The Norwegian group has sustainability as a key priority and has committed to significantly reducing carbon emissions from its operations. Among numerous initiatives, the most noteworthy is the investment in production and use of fossil-free aviation fuel (SAF). Norwegian strives to become the sustainable choice for its passengers, actively contributing to the transformation of the aviation industry.

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