Norwegian returns to Canary Islands. The airline has announced that it will open a new base in Gran Canaria which will operate with two aircraft from October 2024. The crisis unleashed by the pandemic led the company to decide in 2021 to close its two permanent bases in the Archipelago – Gran Canaria and Tenerife – and lay off 186 people, including 65 pilots and 121 cabin crew and ground staff. But after achieving a record operating profit of 2,232 million Norwegian kroner in 2023, Norwegian has decided to strengthen its commitment to Spain and will have 79 routes and 13 based aircraft for the summer of 2024.
“We are delighted to announce the opening of a new base in the Canary Islands for the winter season 2024/2025, thereby reaffirming our commitment to Spain. A market that is increasingly important and to which we are gradually returning after the pandemic. We hope to increase connectivity with the Canary Islands, which are becoming increasingly popular among Norwegian travellers, as well as opening up more connections to the north so that Spaniards can continue to enjoy the wild nature of the Nordic countries,” Geir Karlsen, CEO of Norwegian, noted in a statement yesterday.
The new base in Gran Canarias will operate with 2 aircraft starting in October 2024, contributing, according to the company, to the local economy of the city by creating between 80 and 120 jobs. Among the available routes are destinations such as Stockholm, Oslo, Gothenburg (Sweden), or Torp (Norway), destinations that, according to Karlsen, “are increasingly chosen by Spaniards for their attractiveness and nature and adventure offerings.”
Norwegian connects capitals such as Stockholm or Oslo with Spanish cities like Bilbao, Madrid, or Lanzarote. After selling more than 5 million seats offered last year, the airline takes a new step by opening a new base in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, having a total of 4 bases (Alicante, Barcelona, Malaga, and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria) throughout the year, plus an additional one in Palma de Mallorca during the summer season.
The airline, with a history of over 20 years in the Spanish market, is returning after the pandemic with a “consolidated and progressive” growth strategy in both the Peninsula and the Nordic countries. The airline recently acquired Widerøe, a regional Norwegian airline with a fleet of 48 aircraft. Thus, in February, the Norwegian Group (consisting of Norwegian Air Shuttle and Widerøe) transported 1.5 million passengers.
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The Scandinavian airline had up to eight aircraft based in the Canary Islands: four in Gran Canaria, three in Tenerife South, and one in Tenerife North.
