Norwegian airlines have announced that due to the COVID-19 outbreak they are preparing to cancel around 3,000 flights between mid-March and mid-June, which is around 15% of total capacity for this period.

The reduction in demand on future bookings has meant Norwegian have had implement temporary layoffs of a significant share of its workforce.

“This is a critical time for the aviation industry, including us at Norwegian. We encourage the authorities to immediately implement measures to imminently reduce the financial burden on the airlines in order to protect crucial infrastructure and jobs,” said Jacob Schram, CEO of Norwegian.

“Unfortunately, cancellations will affect a significant share of our colleagues at Norwegian. We have initiated formal consultations with our unions regarding temporary layoffs for flying crew members as well as employees on the ground and in the offices. We will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with unions and employees to work through this difficult situation together,” said Schram.