Some 940,149 people travelled with Norwegian in March on a load factor of 80.3%, up from just 71,399 in March 2021.

It is Norwegian’s busiest month in terms of passenger numbers since November last year when it carried just over a million people before the Omicron variant slowed travel demand once again.

Norwegian said its carryings since the new year showed "a positive trend with growth in passenger numbers".

"The company recently reopened several bases and direct routes in Europe and will continue to increase capacity ahead of the summer," it said on Wednesday (6 April). The airline scrapped its mask mandate on Monday (4 April).

Norwegian will reopen its Helsinki base this summer, from which it will offer flights to 27 European destinations – including a six-times-weekly Gatwick service (daily, excluding Saturdays).

It also plans to operate a twice-weekly Manchester-Trondheim service, starting in mid-August.

“We are particularly pleased load factor has remained above 80% despite the introduction of significantly more capacity in March," said Norwegian chief executive Geir Karlsen.

"Booking figures have improved throughout recent weeks and we are pleased to see this continued upward trend in the market. We are seeing a busy Easter travel period with many travellers and several full flights.

"Towards the summer, we will reopen and introduce new destinations, and our customers can now choose from almost 280 routes in Europe."

Norwegian flew an average of 48 aircraft in March, and expects this to grow to 70 in the summer.