– A fist in the stomach – E24

The new company of Erik G. Braathen and Norwegian has requested support beyond what already exists for the aviation industry. The state will not contribute.

This is stated by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in a press release on Monday morning.

“The fact that the government has now decided not to provide Norwegian with further liquidity support is very disappointing and is perceived as a real punch to the stomach for everyone at Norwegian who has fought for the company and at a time when our competitors they receive double-digit billions from the authorities in their countries, “he said. Norwegian CEO Jacob Schram in a press release.

Norwegian believes that with more support, the company would emerge from the crown crisis as “a more sustainable and lighter airline, with a new structure and better operations.” The road ahead becomes more difficult without support, says Schram.

The state’s extraordinary contribution to aviation this year amounts to NOK 13 billion, says the ministry.

Asked for support in the billion class

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry believes that the state’s main consideration for healthy competition in aviation will be taken into account in the future.

– Norwegian has asked for financial support in the billions, and the government has considered that in this situation there is no proper use of EU funds, says Trade and Industry Minister Iselin Nybø in the press release.

Norwegian writes in their press release that they depend on support to survive.

– With the tourists that we fly to Norway, we contribute to maintaining 24,000 jobs in the country and a value creation of around 18,000 million crowns a year. That alone would indicate that continued support for the company would be a profitable investment from a socio-economic point of view, Schram says in the report.

Can be competitive

Aviation industry players can get many of the other broad schemes the government has come up with, and support for Norwegian beyond that can be competitive, Nybø believes.

In early October, it emerged that Braathen’s new airline had asked the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for NOK 1.5 billion in state start-up assistance.

Transport and Communications Minister Knut Arild Hareide says the government wants to contribute to a competitive aviation industry even after the corona pandemic.

– In the short term, the objective of the state is that there is a minimum necessary offer of flight services. In the long term, when markets normalize, the goal is healthy competition in the Norwegian aviation market, Hareide says in the press release.

Expand aviation measures

In a new press release on Monday morning, the government emphasizes that it will “expand and strengthen measures for Norwegian aviation” and that it will soon propose changes to the loan guarantee scheme and increase allocations for the purchase of air routes.

– The government takes the aviation crisis very seriously. Together with the Storting, we left early to implement a series of measures to remedy the situation, Nybø says in the press release.

The government will also propose to extend the term and disposition of the loans under the guarantee scheme.

– Now that we know that the crisis has lasted longer than we assumed when the scheme was established, we believe it is reasonable to give the airlines a better time to overcome the problem before they have to repay the loans, says the Minister of Commerce and Industry.

On March 19, the loan guarantee scheme of up to NOK 6 billion was launched for airlines licensed to operate in Norway.

Read Norwegian’s message here