Transatlantic carrier Norse Atlantic Airways has been granted an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and Operating Licence (OL) by the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Acquiring the UK licences will allow Norse Atlantic to increase flights between the UK and US from London Gatwick airport. The airline started flying between Gatwick and New York in August using its Norwegian AOC, with services originating in Oslo and then picking up passengers at Gatwick.
Bjorn Tore Larsen, CEO Norse Atlantic Airways, said that the UK would be a “vital part of our network going forward”. The airline added that it was keen to serve routes “currently not served by direct flights or lacking sufficient capacity”.
“We are proud to be employing local pilots and cabin crew at our London Gatwick base and have established close working relationships with the British pilot union BALPA, the cabin crew union Unite and the American cabin crew union AFA,” added Larsen.
“We look forward to ramping up our operations between London and the US ready for our summer 2023 schedule.”
Norse Atlantic said it planned to “expand in the future from European points and the UK, in line with demand”.
After being founded in March 2021, the carrier operated its first flight from Oslo to New York in June 2022 and also launched transatlantic flights from Berlin this summer.
The airline operates a fleet of Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft featuring both economy and premium cabins.