Could Norwegian become temporarily state-owned?

In May, Norwegian struggled for bare survival. But the creditors agreed to a restructuring of the badly troubled low-cost airline. This also cleared the way for state-guaranteed loans amounting to the equivalent of more than 260 million euros (305 million US dollars).

In August, however, Norwegian sent out distress signals again. The state aid was not sufficient «to survive this long-lasting crisis». That is why the airline’s management met with representatives of the Norwegian government last week, reports The Telegraph.

Only a temporary measure

The subject of the talks: A state participation that would lead to the nationalisation of Norwegian. However, sources emphasised to the paper that any involvement by Norway would be temporary – like with several other airlines and their respective governments.

Previously, the news portal E24 had reported that there were meetings at the highest level between the government and Norwegian. Apparently the airline had asked for it. According to the report, the topics it mentioned were «the liquidity situation and the way ahead for aviation in Norway».

Struggling even before the Coronavirus crisis

For the first half of 2020 Norwegian reported a loss of 544 million dollars. The low-cost airline was already struggling financially before the Coronavirus crisis because of its too rapid expansion into other European markets.