Norwegian Air Group reported a “challenging” December as winter weather conditions hit punctuality.
The owner of Scandinavian carriers Norwegian and Wideroe carried a total of almost 1.8 million passengers last month.
This enabled the group to end 2024 with 10% passenger growth to 26.4 million over the previous year.
Norwegian operated an average of 73 aircraft during December, representing a 24% year-on-year rise in capacity.
A court in Oslo last month ruled that a NOK 400 million penalty imposed during the group’s 2020 reconstruction during the pandemic over EU Emissions Trading System obligations was unlawful and that the group is entitled to a full refund plus interest. However, the court ruling is not yet final.
Group chief executive Geir Karlsen said: “We are pleased to close out the year with a solid December performance for the group.
“We kicked off 2024 with the very successful acquisition of Wideroe and continued with significant capacity growth throughout the year by adding new routes and destinations.
“I am proud that Norwegian has managed to attract over two million new passengers during 2024, demonstrating the continuous improvement and relevance in our product. Over 10% customer growth for both Norwegian and Wideroe is substantial, and I want to thank all my colleagues for their great work in achieving this.”
However, the company said it faced “several operational challenges” last month, mainly due to weather and operational issues at airports throughout Europe and the Nordics.
Karlsen said: “Operationally December has, to a large extent due to winter weather conditions, been a challenging month.
“We will continue to work hard to make sure our customers get to their destinations on time. While our punctuality performance this year could be better, I am pleased that Norwegian is once again named among the top five most punctual airlines in Europe in 2024.”