The budget carrier said government-imposed travel restrictions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic had resulted in a “dramatic drop” in flight demand.

In the space of a week, Norwegian went from cutting 15% of planned capacity starting 10 March to 85% starting 16 March, with most cancellations starting from 25 March.

Flights, meanwhile, operated at a load factor of 72%, down 13.8 percentage points compared to the same month last year.

Total March capacity in available seat kilometres decreased 53% year-on-year and total passenger numbers 61%, falling to 1.15 million.

Norwegian operated 77% of scheduled flights in total, as well as multiple rescue flights and services to maintain “critical regional flying infrastructure”.

Chief executive Jacob Schram said: “The speed of the Covid-19 global outbreak throughout March had a profound impact on the entire Norwegian network as cancellations, in line with global travel advice and falling demand, were implemented throughout the month.

“Norwegian operated multiple rescue flights on behalf of the government to ensure that thousands of Scandinavian passengers could safely return home. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our dedicated colleagues, our customers and members of the public for their continued support.”

Schram added Norwegian would provide further financial and business updates to the Oslo stock exchange “when appropriate”.