Norwegian Air reportedly plans to withdraw its Air Operator Certificate (AOC), ceasing its operations in Ireland.
The air carrier, which is exiting bankruptcy protection procedures, seeks to discontinue its operations in Ireland by ditching its Irish AOC, reported local media on June 21, 2021. If confirmed, Norwegian Air would hold only two out of the previous five AOCs. Having already ceased its long-haul operations with its subsidiaries Norwegian Air UK and Norwegian Long Haul, the air carrier continues holding AOCs for operations from Norway and Sweden.
The talks regarding the Norwegian Air plans to ditch the Irish AOC follows the recent company’s decision to cut 50 employees at its Irish branch Norwegian Air International (NAI). On June 18, 2021, the company warned its Dublin-based employees regarding the potential job cuts despite that it emerged from Irish examinership in April 2021.
In a letter to Irish employees, Norwegian Air reportedly confirmed the expected restructuring of the group’s departments in order to be capable of managing the company following the new business plan. However, the airline has not made the final decision regarding the layoffs yet.