The Norwegian government has denied the cash-strapped carrier further financial support after it pursued part-nationalisation process earlier this year.
Norwegian said the move left the airline facing “a very uncertain future”, along with its route network, which it said would not be replaced overnight if it went under.
Chief executive Jacob Schram said the move was “very disappointing” and felt like a “slap in the face” for everyone fighting to save the firm, more so – he added – with competitors “receiving billions in funding” from their respective governments.
Schram said Norwegian had “clearly communicated” further financial support would be required to maintain operations throughout the Covid crisis.
“The company is now facing a very uncertain future, but we will do everything in our power to get through this crisis,” he said.
Norwegian employs 2,300 people in Norway, and several thousand more in other countries.
“We are called Norwegian, we are Norwegian. We are a part of Norway, and Norway is a part of us. This is the way it has been for almost 20 years,” said Schram.
“We offer routes from Kristiansand in the south to Svalbard in the north, routes that cannot be replaced overnight. It will take time and it will have consequences for the competitive situation in Norway, like we have seen before.”
Schram said that based on tourist passenger numbers, Norwegian contributed around NOK 18 billion (£1.5 billion) to local economies.
“That alone clearly demonstrates that even moderate financial support would constitute a profitable investment for Norway,” said Schram.
“How anyone could come to a different conclusion is impossible to understand. The local travel industry and businesses have again and again emphasised the importance of Norwegian’s route network.”
Since 2018, Norwegian has sought to shift its focus from expansion and growth to profitability, and has taken a range of steps to secure the business’s future, more recently through state aid.
