Norwegian Air announced on Monday that the company’s pilot and cabin crew subsidiaries in Sweden and Denmark have filed for bankruptcy. The filing impacts 1,571 pilots and 3,134 cabin crew team members.
Today, the Norwegian Group, parent company of Norwegian Air, announced that their pilot and cabin crew subsidiaries in Sweden and Denmark have filed for bankruptcy. The impacted subsidiaries include Norwegian Pilot Services Sweden AB, Norwegian Pilot Services Denmark ApS, Norwegian Cabin Services Denmark ApS and Norwegian Air Resources Denmark LH ApS. The actions will impact 1,571 pilots and 3,134 cabin crew, while around 700 pilots and 1,300 cabin crew based in Norway, France and Italy will not be affected at this time. In Norway, the government will pay salary related costs for employees for the duration of the furlough period, but unfortunately the same coverage isn’t available in Sweden and Denmark. Additionally, the carrier has advised OSM Aviation that due to the extraordinary COVID-19 situation (a force majeure), they have cancelled crew provision agreements with several jointly owned OSM Aviation subsidiaries for crew based in Spain, the UK, Finland, Sweden and the US. In Monday’s announcement, Norwegian’s CEO, Jacob Schram said,
“The impact the Coronavirus has had on the airline industry is unprecedented. We have done everything we can to avoid making this last-resort decision and we have asked for access to government support in both Sweden and Denmark. Our pilots and cabin crew are the core of our business and have done a fantastic job for many years. It is heart-braking that our Swedish and Danish pilot and cabin crew subsidiaries now are forced to file for bankruptcy, and I’m truly sorry for the consequences this will have for our colleagues. We are working around the clock to get through this crisis and to return as a stronger Norwegian with the goal of bringing as many colleagues back in the air as possible.”
Norwegian Air is the world’s fifth largest low cost carrier, carrying over 36 million guests in 2019. The airline usually operates over 500 routes to over 150 destinations in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, Thailand, North America and South America. Norwegian operates a young and fuel-efficient fleet of over 160 aircraft, with an average age of only 4.6 years.
Source: Norwegian Air