Norwegian to discontinue transatlantic flights from Ireland

Norwegian Boeing 737 MAX 8 — The Boeing 737 MAX grounding is disrupting Norwegian's transatlantic network. Photo: © Leonard Leinroth / IFN

Norwegian Air Shuttle has announced that it will discontinue its transatlantic flights to and from Ireland next month.

The airline will end all six routes from Dublin, Cork and Shannon to the United States and Canada from September 15th. Affected passengers will be booked on other services or offered a full refund if they no longer wish to fly.

In a press release, Norwegian specifically mentions the global Boeing 737 MAX grounding as a key reason for this decision.

As the airline moves from growth to profitability, we have conducted a comprehensive review of our transatlantic operations between Ireland and North America and considering the grounding of the Boeing 737 MAX aircraft, we have concluded that these routes are no longer commercially viable.Matthew Wood, Norwegian's Senior Vice President for Long-Haul Commercial

Norwegian says it has attempted to minimise disruption for passengers by wet-leasing aircraft from other airlines to fill the gap left by its 18 grounded 737 MAX planes. However, this method is no longer sustainable for the low-cost carrier, as it remains uncertain when the Boeing 737 MAX re-enters commercial service.

The airline with bases in several European countries started flights from Ireland across the Atlantic in 2017.