Denmark and Sweden are affected.
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Long before the corona pandemic, the financial situation of the low-cost airline Norwegian Air Shuttle was extremely tense. Now the group had to send four subsidiaries into bankruptcy. Specifically, these are Norwegian Pilot Services Sweden AB, Norwegian Pilot Services Denmark ApS, Norwegian Cabin Services Denmark ApS and Norwegian Air Resources Denmark LH ApS.
In the Scandinavian region in particular, Norwegian employs the flying staff through its own temporary employment agencies. In the past, people have often been criticized for this practice. Four of these companies had to file for bankruptcy on Monday, Norwegian said in a press release. The background should in particular be that Denmark and Sweden do not offer short-time working models.
“The impact of the corona virus on the aviation industry is unprecedented. We have done everything possible to avoid this final decision and we have asked for access to government support in both Sweden and Denmark, ”said Norwegian boss Jacob Schram. “Our pilots and cabin crew are at the heart of our business and have been doing a fantastic job for many years. It is heartbreaking that our Swedish and Danish subsidiaries for pilots and cabin crew are now forced to file for bankruptcy, and I am really sorry about the consequences this will have for our colleagues. We are working around the clock to overcome this crisis and return as a stronger Norwegian to get as many colleagues as possible back in the air. ”
In a broadcast, Norwegian points out that in Norway, unlike Denmark and Sweden, it adopts short-time working models. The Norwegian state pays all salary costs for the duration of the leave of absence. However, this is not the case in Denmark and Sweden. The two states are said to have refused to provide Norwegian airline with financial support for their temporary employment agencies, so that the board of directors was tied up when it came to filing for bankruptcy.
Due to the exceptional situation (acts of God), Norwegian OSM Aviation has also informed that it has terminated the crew member arrangements with several of its joint OSM Aviation subsidiaries. These companies have crew members in Spain, the United Kingdom, Finland, Sweden and the United States. The above measures concern 1,571 pilots and 3,134 cabin crew. Around 700 pilots and 1,300 flight attendants in Norway, France and Italy are not affected.
The process of filing for bankruptcy from the subsidiaries is now managed by bankruptcy courts and administrators in the respective countries.
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