Norwegian Air Argentina is granted AOC

Norwegian Air Argentina received its air operator certificate (AOC) from the Argentinian government Jan. 26. The much-delayed milestone is a major step for the airline to finally be able to start commercial flights later this year. The carrier has already been granted the authority for 72 domestic and 80 international routes now that Argentina has begun to liberalize its once much-restricted air transport market. Norwegian Air UK plans to start serving Buenos Aires from London-Gatwick in February. But the Argentina-based subsidiary will focus initially on domestic routes and services inside Latin America. The airline took delivery of its first Boeing 737-800 Jan. 15. Norwegian Air Argentina plans to start services between June and August, but has not yet defined a firm date. In Argentina’s low-cost segment the carrier will compete with Flybondi, which started commercial services Jan. 26 and Andes, a legacy airline converting to the new business model. Aerolineas Argentinas so far dominates the country’s air transport market, but LATAM Airlines has made inroads in recent years.<br/>