Some 930,000 passengers flew with Norwegian in December on a load factor of 71.3%, "a significant increase" compared with the same month in 2020 when it carried just 130,000 passengers. However, it ends two consecutive months of carryings in excess of one million passengers.

Moreover, after six consecutive months of passenger growth – peaking at 1.2 million in October – following its restructure, Norwegian’s carryings only narrowly surpassed one million in November and have now sunk below the seven figure mark again.

Chief executive Geir Karlsen, though, said he was happy with the airline’s performance, stressing Norwegian had planned for a winter downturn. "I am pleased we have efficiently balanced the planning and implementation of our route network and production for December," he said. "This in turn meant passengers could book and travel on Norwegian with confidence during the festive period."

"Lower demand was factored into our schedules during Christmas and the New Year weekend, therefore I am pleased to report load factors are good for December as well. We have seen an effect on general demand from the spread of the Omicron virus and the subsequent new measures and restrictions in Scandinavia and abroad."

Norwegian operated an average of 48 aircraft in December, fulfilling 99.6% of all scheduled flights.