Norwegian flew eight aircraft on average in restriction-hit January

Restructuring low-cost carrier Norwegian operated an average of just eight aircraft in January as a result of services curtailed by travel restrictions. Traffic figures released by the airline show it carried just under 75,000 passengers for the month – a drop of 96% on the same month in 2020. It is an even sharper fall than the near 130,000 it flew in December, itself 94% down on the corresponding month in 2019. The drop in traffic, as measured in RPKs, was even sharper – down 99%. The heavier fall in part reflects that it operated predominantly domestic routes in January, while at the same point last year it was still flying some long-haul services. Norwegian, which has entered a formal restructuring process, in January said it would scrap long-haul operations to focus on its short-haul network as it strives for viability. The airline’s capacity was down 98% and load factor tumbled 45 percentage points to just 35.9% in January. <br/>