Press release -
Norwegian and the Norwegian Pilot Union reach agreement through mediation
After two days of mediation, Norwegian and the Norwegian Pilot Union (NPU) have reached a positive conclusion with a new collective bargaining agreement. As a result, the risk of strike action has been removed.
“I am pleased that we have reached an agreement, and that we will avoid strike action. First and foremost, the news will come as a relief to our customers who are due to travel with us. All eyes are now on the busy summer season ahead and we look forward to welcoming our customers on board," said Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian.
The agreement covers 690 pilots employed in Norway.
Unfortunately, due to the previously announced strike action, it is not possible to get new crew in place for all of Norwegian’s flight schedule. Hence, some flights will possibly have to be cancelled this weekend. Passengers whose flights are cancelled will be notified directly.
“Unfortunately, these cancellations are a possible consequence, but we are doing everything in our power to get customers on their way as quickly as possible,” said Geir Karlsen.
Norwegian is now in the summer season and has launched 47 new routes this year. Capacity has increased by 1.6 million seats from last year. In total, the company will fly approximately 500 flights daily on 340 routes to over 120 destinations this summer.
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About Norwegian
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.
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.
