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‘Norwegian UK’ set to take-off as airline is granted UK Air Operating License

Press release -

‘Norwegian UK’ set to take-off as airline is granted UK Air Operating License

- New ‘Norwegian UK’ subsidiary will open the door for further UK expansion and potential new routes to Asia, South America and South Africa

Norwegian, Europe’s third largest low-cost airline, has today been granted a UK Operating License opening up bilateral traffic rights to a series of potential new markets including Asia, South America and South Africa as the airline continues its huge growth in the UK.

Norwegian has grown to become the third-largest airline at Gatwick and also operates from Manchester, Birmingham, and Edinburgh. Over the last 12 months, Norwegian has flown 3.9 million UK passengers to 34 global destinations, including the UK’s only low-cost direct flights to America.

With new aircraft on order that will more than quadruple its current long-haul fleet, Norwegian is planning further expansion in key markets, particularly the UK. Norwegian has now obtained a UK Operating License following a detailed application process with the Civil Aviation Authority. The UK license will help Norwegian access bilateral traffic rights, opening the door to new UK routes to a series of potential new markets in the future including Asia, South America and South Africa.

Norwegian plans to begin operating under the new license as ‘Norwegian UK’ in the first quarter of 2016 and will be located at Gatwick where the airline already has ten aircraft and more than 400 crew and pilots based. Norwegian’s new routes and UK expansion plans are expected to help create several hundred jobs within Norwegian in the coming years, along with many more in the wider travel and tourism industry.

Norwegian CEO Bjorn Kjos said: “The British market continues to play a major role in Norwegian’s growth. Securing a UK Operating License is great news and an important step to get a stronger foothold in the UK as we plan for further expansion, new routes and new jobs.”

Managing Director of Norwegian UK, Asgeir Nyseth said:With nearly 4 million passengers in the UK over the last 12 months, passengers are voting with their feet for the quality, affordable travel we offer. We are changing the face of low-cost travel by offering free on-board WiFi, state-of-the-art new aircraft and the UK’s only direct low-cost flights to America. With the door now unlocked for new routes and further growth, we look forward to offering UK passengers a range of exciting new destinations in the future.”

News of the UK Operating Licence follows a series of recent route launches as Norwegian continues its huge UK growth. Earlier this month Norwegian launched its 5th transatlantic route from Gatwick with the UK’s only direct route to Puerto Rico offering passengers low-cost travel to the Caribbean for the first time. Also this month, two new routes were added at Birmingham Airport helping make Norwegian the fastest growing airline at Birmingham in 2015.

How Norwegian has grown in the UK:

  • April 2013: Norwegian establishes its first UK base at London Gatwick. More than 400 long-haul and short-haul crew and pilots are now based at the airport
  • July 2014: Norwegian introduces the UK’s first low-cost, long-haul flights to the U.S. Flights from Gatwick to New York, Los Angeles, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale cost from £149
  • Summer 2015: Norwegian sees its busiest ever summer in the UK with over one million passengers between June and September and over 500 flights per week to and from UK airports
  • September 2015: in the 12 months from October 2014 to September 2015 a total of 3,931,803 passengers flew with Norwegian to and from UK airports
  • October 2015 – in Norwegian’s third quarter results, the airline’s strongest growth in terms of passenger numbers was at Gatwick. Norwegian also announced an order for 19 new Dreamliner aircraft, the single largest order in Europe which will help quadruple Norwegian’s long-haul fleet
  • November 2015: Norwegian launches the UK’s only direct route to Puerto Rico. The new route from Gatwick will offer UK passengers low-cost travel to the Caribbean for the first time
  • November 2015: Further expansion at Birmingham and Edinburgh Airports with new flights to the Canary Islands. At Birmingham in particular, Norwegian has launched 5 new routes in less than a year making it one of the airport’s fastest growing airlines
  • First Quarter 2016: ‘Norwegian UK’ expected to begin operating from existing Gatwick base
  • May 2016: Boston will be added to Norwegian’s low-cost long-haul network, becoming the fifth US destination served from the UK
  • 2017: Norwegian will be the European launch customer of new generation Boeing 737 MAX8 aircraft making it possible to connect smaller cities in the UK with destinations in the U.S.

- Ends - 

For media enquiries please contact the UK press office on (+44) 020 3824 4890 / pressUK@norwegian.com

Images and footage are available for media to download at http://media.norwegian.com/en/#/latest_media

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Norwegian in the UK

  • Norwegian first launched UK flights in 2003 and now 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 in-flight WiFi on UK flights to 29 European destinations

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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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