Norwegian’s latest rescue plan receives government support

Norway's government is backing a new rescue plan for low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle to escape bankruptcy, in a change from the stance in October that pushed the carrier to the brink of collapse. The centre-right coalition in Oslo said on Thursday morning that it was “positive” about Norwegian's plan to refocus on the Nordic region by ending low-cost long-haul flights, cut debt significantly, and raise fresh capital.  The government will provide a hybrid loan to Norwegian provided the airline raises at least NKr4.5b ($530m) from institutional and strategic investors and completes its restructuring that should cut its debt in more than two. “The plan seems more robust than the one we said no to in October. That is why we are now positive towards contributing,” said Iselin Nybo, minister of trade and industry. The government's rejection of a second bailout of Norwegian in the autumn turned the carrier into the biggest casualty of the crisis roiling the aviation industry due to Covid-19, as it was forced to seek protection from creditors in Ireland and Norway.  Norway stressed that it did not want to become a shareholder in Norwegian, but merely wanted to help the local aviation sector. <br/>