Coronavirus: Norwegian Air passenger numbers fall 60 per cent in March
Norwegian Air flew 60 per cent fewer passengers year-on-year in March as the low-cost carrier grounded planes in response to widespread travel bans due to coronavirus.
Compared to last year, the airline flew only 1.15m passengers, meaning capacity was 40 per cent lower than had been planned.
In a statement, the airline said: “The company experienced a dramatic drop in demand following government-imposed travel restrictions and a general travel decline”.
Norwegian will cancel 85 per cent of its flights and furlough 90 per cent of staff while seeking financial aid from Norway’s government in a bid to limit the damage from the coronavirus outbreak.
The country’s authorities have offered the embattled carrier a loan of 3bn Norwegian krone (£250m) to see it through the pandemic, subject to the airline fulfilling certain conditions.
In addition, the firm said it would take a $102m hit from hedging the cost of fuel, which has plummeted due to the ongoing crisis.
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Other airlines have also suffered as a result of the collapse in oil prices, with Ryanair saying the price collapse would cost it $324m.
On Friday Ryanair revealed that its passenger numbers had almost halved in March, falling from 10.9m in 2019 to 5.7m this year.
The budget airline said it expected “minimal if any” traffic through the months of April and May.
The global airline industry has been utterly devastated by the spread of coronavirus, with global industry body the International Air Transport Association saying the outbreak could cost the world’s airlines over $250bn in revenues this year.
Carriers around the world are in negotiations with their respective governments over financial assistance to keep them afloat during the crisis.
This morning Lufthansa subsidiary Brussels Airlines said it would extend its suspension of flights until 15 May.