Norwegian (Oslo Gardermoen) has won back from SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK, Copenhagen Kastrup) a four-year contract for flights conducted for Norway’s defence sector both domestically and in the wider Nordic region.
The agreement with the Defence Logistics Organisation (Forsvarets Logistikk Organisasjon - FLO) has a total value of around NOK1 billion kroner (USD96 million) and covers about 250,000 trips a year for defence sector employees starting from February 1, 2024. It is made on behalf of three institutions - the Ministry of Defence, the Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (Forsvarsmateriell), and the National Security Authority (Nasjonal sikkerhetsmyndighet).
As part of the deal - one of the biggest aviation tenders in Norway - the airline will reintroduce two direct routes, from Oslo to Bardufoss in northern Norway where there is a large airbase, with 17 weekly departures, and 2x weekly between the capital and Lakselv, close to which lies the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s most northerly base Station Group Banak. The low-cost carrier will also operate a route from Oslo to Kirkenes year-round.
Norwegian had previously had the contract since 2008, but it was taken over by SAS from early 2020. Norwegian said in a statement on August 9 that it “was chosen because of a flexible route programme, competitive prices, and sustainability.”
Magnus Maursund, the airline’s commercial director, commented that “among other things, it will give our northern Norwegian customers greater flexibility with far more departures and routes” including onward connections into the rest of Europe.
The armed forces also placed emphasis on environmental requirements in the tender, and Norwegian claimed that in its favour was its work on the use of fossil-free aviation fuel. During the agreement period, the carrier “will replace regular fuel with fossil-free aviation fuel for a significant proportion of consumption related to the defence sector’s flights.” Overall, in the four years, the contract will see it replace up to four million litres of fossil fuel and cut CO2 emissions by around 10,000 tonnes.
Regional airline Widerøe (WF, Bodø), which Norwegian recently signed an agreement to take over, also recently landed a contract with the Norwegian Defence Forces. This one concentrates on Bergen in addition to northern Norway and has an annual value of NOK35 million (USD3.35 million) over a four-year period.
