Norwegian Air will cut 4,000 flights and temporarily lay off half of its employees as it struggles to deal with the effects of coronavirus on the travel industry.
The airline’s announcement came amid falling demand for air travel, due to increasing travel restrictions and worried travellers opting to stay at home.
It blamed the “extraordinary market situation due to the coronavirus”, adding: “We must look at all possible measures to reduce costs.
“This unfortunately also includes temporary layoffs of up to 50% of our employees, and the number may increase.”
The latest set of restrictions were brought in by US President Donald Trump on Wednesday night, banning travel from the Schengen area of Europe for the next 30 days.
The rules were Mr Trump’s effort to stop the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus, which has killed more than 4,000 people and infected more than 127,000.
The trans-Atlantic route had been where Norwegian had really made its mark, offering budget travel to the New York region and several other US cities since entering that market in 2013.

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