The crew flew the airline’s long-haul routes, which were axed when the troubled carrier announced on 14 January it would revert to short-haul services only.

KPMG is acting as joint liquidators to Norwegian Air Resources, which employed the crews at Gatwick.

David Pike, a partner at KPMG, said: “This is extremely disappointing news for the UK aviation industry and the employees. 

“This appointment forms part of Norwegian Air’s wider operational and restructuring programme which will see the company exit its long-haul routes and instead focus on routes within Norway and Europe.

“Given this outcome and its impact on staff, our clear priority is to work with the employees and their representatives so that we can assist them with making claims to the Redundancy Payments Service, as well as assisting them in securing training records and other important information. 

“We will also continue to work with the unions, including Unite and Balpa, to support their efforts and initiatives.”