Troubled airline Norwegian wins fight against insolvency

The battered airline Norwegian has finalized its restructuring plan and is set to leave creditor protection after a month-long battle for survival.

The Norwegian carrier announced in a stock exchange release on Wednesday that it should leave creditor protection in Ireland and in Norway later that day.

"We have saved an airline that has enormous value for Norway," Norwegian chief Jacob Schram was quoted as saying by news agency NTB.

According to the group, the process of raising capital to save the company has thus been completed, parts of which were generated by issuing new shares.

Norwegian has been fighting against insolvency for months due to high levels of debt and other problems in the wake of the coronavirus crisis.

During the restructuring, debt has been reduced by an estimated 7.5 billion to 7.9 billion dollars since 2019, according to the company.

Liabilities after the completion of the reorganization remain at around 1.9 billion to 2.2 billion dollars, a good third of which is aircraft-related debt.

Restructuring requirements

Thanks to the new funds, the airline has also met the restructuring requirements of the competent Irish and Norwegian courts.

The days of Norwegian long-haul flights are now over.

In the future, the company will concentrate on routes within Europe, mainly in the Scandinavian region, with 51 planes, down from 156.