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Norwegian Air’s February passenger numbers slump by 97%

Just 61,374 customers flew with Norwegian Air in February, a decrease of 97% compared to the same month last year.

The airline said the numbers for February “are strongly influenced by lower demand caused by continued travel restrictions across Europe”.

The capacity (available seat kilometres) was down by 98% and the load factor was 38%, a fall of 44 percentage points.

Jacob Schram, chief executive of Norwegian, said: “The pandemic continues to have a negative impact on our business as travel restrictions remain.

“On a positive note, more and more people are being vaccinated, we see positive tendencies in our bookings, and we believe that people are longing to travel.

“As soon as Europe gradually reopens, we will be ready to welcome more passengers on board”.

Norwegian operated eight aircraft on average in February, mainly on domestic routes in Norway.

Earlier this week, Ryanair and Wizz also reported dramatic year-on-year slumps in passenger numbers as the Covid crisis continues.

Last month, Norwegian Air said it hopes to emerge from bankruptcy protection “more financially secure”, after it posted a fourth quarter loss of nearly £1.4 billion.

It recently abandoned its low-cost long-haul operations and plans to offer a broad range of domestic routes in Norway, across the Nordics and to key European destinations.

More: Ryanair and Wizz Air see February figures dive

Norwegian Air posts £1.4 billion fourth quarter loss

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