Norwegian Wins $97 Million Contract For Defense Sector Flights

LCC Norwegian has won a $97 million, four-year contract to provide around 250,000 flights annually for the defense sector in Norway and the Nordic region.  

The airline says it was chosen to transport Defense Ministry and armed forces personnel because of its flexible route program, competitive prices, and emphasis on sustainability, including work on alternative fuels. As part of the deal, the carrier will reintroduce a direct Oslo-Bardufoss route with 17 weekly departures and fly Oslo-Lakselv twice a week. The company also will offer a direct, year-round Oslo-Kirkenes route. 

After the COVID-19 pandemic, Norwegian emerged from a restructuring with a streamlined fleet and operation focusing on domestic and short-haul flights, after it ran into financial difficulties linked to an earlier ambitious long-haul expansion strategy. 

“We are very happy to be able to increase our offer in northern Norway,” says Magnus Maursund, commercial director at Norwegian. “Among other things, it will give our northern Norwegian customers greater flexibility with far more departures and routes and opportunities for seamless onward connections into Europe. Northern Norway is an important market for us, and the offer will be much better from next year onward.”

“During the agreement period, Norwegian will replace regular fuel with fossil-free aviation fuel for a significant proportion of consumption related to the defense sector’s flights,” the airline says. “Overall, for the four-year period, Norwegian will replace up to 4 million liters [1.1 million gal.] of fossil fuel and reduce CO₂ emissions by around 10,000 [metric] tons.”