Norwegian Air passenger numbers rose by 12% year-on year in May signalling the start of summer flying.
More than a third of the 2.1 million travellers using the Scandinavian low cost carrier flew to holiday destinations in southern Europe.
The airline operated an average of 84 aircraft in the month as it ramped up its the summer schedule with capacity up by 19% over May last year.
However, the load factor was down two percentage points to 82%.
Punctuality, based on the share of flights departing within 15 minutes of scheduled time, was 86.1%, up 1.2 percentage points from the same month in 2023.
Chief executive Geir Karlsen said: “I’m satisfied with the passenger numbers in May.
“About 650,000 of our passengers travelled to southern Europe destinations in May. The average flying distance increased seven per cent, demonstrating our significant capacity growth to beach destinations.
“Our capacity has been significantly increased overall for the summer season, and we look forward to welcoming even more passengers through the busy summer holidays.”
Regional sister carrier Wideroe flew 333,492 passengers, 10% up year-on-year with capacity pegged at the same level as May last year.
Karlsen added: “I am very pleased to see Wideroe continuing to deliver good results. The load factor increased an impressive seven per cent, with the majority of the improvement coming on the commercial network.”