Norwegian considers cutting short-haul flights from Gatwick
Norwegian admitted today that it might have to cut the number of flights it offers from the UK to popular short-haul destinations this summer.
The airline, which announced an annual loss of £27.4 million yesterday, admitted some short-haul capacity from Gatwick might be reduced to free up slots for more long-haul services.
However, a spokesman denied reports that it had already halved the number of seats from Gatwick to Ibiza, Dubrovnik and Fuerteventure or that it had cut capacity on routes to Larnaca, Lanzarote and Chania by 30%.
"We have fewer seats for sale on our website than we had last summer, but that’s only because all of our seats aren’t on the system yet," he said. "We are still working on our summer 2018 scheduled and that won’t be finalised for a few weeks."
Reports emerged today that in addition to cuts from Gatwick, Norwegian’s Edinburgh to Malaga service has already been cut by almost a third.
The spokesman said that as the airline’s ‘big focus’ was longhaul, there would be some changes to its short-haul programme this summer. "There is a possibility we will use some slots for our long-haul flights," he said, adding in a statement: "We have exciting future long-haul growth plans at London Gatwick, where passengers will still be able to connect to and from our European network.
"We are currently finalising our summer 2018 plans which may include some changes on certain short-haul routes, allowing us to focus on building a network that offers passengers smoother connections between our long-haul and short-haul flights."
The airline launched a new Gatwick to Buenos Aires route this week and also announced plans for more services to Latin America, the US and Asia from the UK.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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