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The Ministry of Transport and Communications has renewed the agreements with Widerøe, SAS and Norwegian, which were not signed until March 25.
The new deal lasts until December 31, 2020 and will cost NOK 12.5 million per week.
– Since March, it has been important for the government to ensure a good supply of flights throughout the country. There are long distances in Norway and for many, planes are a collective to count on, Transport Minister Knut Arild Hareide says in a press release.
– By now extending the purchase of the minimum offer, we make sure that people get to hospitals and jobs where flying is the only option, he continues.
Norwegian and SAS receive support for several routes, mainly from Oslo and to northern Norway and western Norway.
On the Widerøe side, there are nine routes. Five of them between Tromsø and Stokmarknes, Vadsø, Hammerfest, Alta and Kirkenes.
The Ministry also provides support to Stokmarknes – Bodø and Bergen – Florø and between Oslo and Florø and Ørsta / Volda.
Five routes will be removed from the flight path purchase, this applies to Tromsø-Oslo, Bodø-Oslo, Harstad / Narvik-Oslo, Ålesund-Oslo and Kristiansand-Oslo.
– To provide predictability to airlines and travelers, we have signed an agreement for three months. The state-backed minimum offering is important to the business community and to people who perform socially critical functions in our vast country, Hareide says.