Norwegian will maintain operations only in Scandinavia and Spain. Norwegian Air Shuttle has confirmed its intention to initiate an employment regulation (ERE) case in Spain for 1.191 of the airline's employees in Spain. The company has assured that this is the drastic restructuring process it is carrying out in all the markets in which it has had operations from which it is withdrawing: the Nordic countries, the United Kingdom, the United States, Italy and France.
The airline explained that all these measures are a consequence of cessation of long-haul operations of the company and the reduction of short-distance operations that it announced in January last year. This is a stark contrast to the airline's situation at the end of 2019, when it had a fleet of 156 aircraft, of which 37 were Boeing 787 Dreamliners used for long-haul flights and 119 were Boeing 737s.
Norwegian Air Shuttle will maintain operations only in Scandinavia and Spain.
The group's management has calculated production needs for 2021 and 2022 and confirms its intention to maintain two operational bases in Spain, at Alicante and Malaga airports, as announced at the end of March. The opening of these bases will be done after the lifting of travel restrictions imposed globally, but also by the Spanish Government.
The company estimates that by the summer of 2022 and in the scenario with six planes that will be based in Spain (three aircraft based in Alicante and three aircraft based in Malaga), it will need more than 200 employees. The final number of employees may be higher, but it will depend on the agreements reached by the unions and the company on the types of contracts and reductions in working hours, among other things. Consultations with the unions will begin this week and will last a month.
"While the figures quoted are certainly modest compared to the company's operations in the country in recent years, it is important to take into account Norwegian's commitment to Spain, at a time when the airline has withdrawn from all markets."