Norwegian and Wideroe Report Seven Point Eight Million Passengers for Second Quarter Amid Financial Pressure from EU Emissions Obligations

Norwegian Group has reported carrying 7.8 million passengers during the second quarter of 2026. The traffic expansion comes despite operating losses linked to environmental legal charges.

The Performance and Financial Details

Telemetry records published by the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority (Luftfartstilsynet) indicate a three percent increase in passenger traffic across the Norwegian Group compared to the second quarter of 2025. Norwegian Air Shuttle carried 6.7 million passengers, while regional affiliate Widerøe transported 1.1 million travelers.

Our analysis indicates that the group's operating result (EBIT) fell to negative NOK 603 million. The loss was heavily driven by a Supreme Court ruling ordering the airline to settle historical obligations under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) for 2020. However, when excluding this exceptional emissions charge, the group delivered an adjusted operating profit of NOK 213 million, maintaining operational stability heading into the summer peak.

Flight Hub and Capacity Breakdown

The operational capacity and performance metrics for the group's airlines during the second quarter include:

Oslo Gardermoen (OSL) & Nordic Hubs: Norwegian maintained high punctuality across its main bases at Oslo, Copenhagen (CPH), Stockholm (ARN), and Bergen (BGO).
Available Seat Kilometers (ASK): Norwegian expanded its summer flight capacity by five percent, while Widerøe increased regional capacity by three percent.
Flight Load Factors: The average load factor for the quarter was recorded at 82.5 percent, representing a minor decrease of 2.7 percentage points compared to the previous year.
Loyalty Currency Growth: The carrier expanded its "Spenn" digital loyalty platform via a new grocery partnership with REMA 1000.

Passenger Rights & Advisory (Information Gain)

Since Norway is integrated into the European Common Aviation Area, passengers traveling on Norwegian and Widerøe are covered by EU Regulation 261/2004. If you experience delays or cancellations during your summer journey:

Right to Care During Delays: If your flight is delayed by 2 hours or more (for flights up to 1,500 km) or 3 hours or more (for longer routes), the carrier must provide complimentary food vouchers, refreshments, and two free phone calls or emails.
Overnight Accommodation Obligations: If a flight delay or cancellation pushes your departure to the next day, the airline is legally required to arrange hotel accommodation and airport transfers at no additional cost to you.
Refund and Rebooking Options: In the event of a cancellation, passengers have the right to choose between a full ticket refund within 7 days or re-routing to their final destination under comparable transport conditions at the earliest opportunity.
Loyalty Points Protection: Ticket purchases completed using Spenn or Norwegian Reward points retain full refund value if the flight is canceled by the carrier, with points restored to the passenger's account.

Industry Analyst View

The exceptional EU ETS court ruling highlights the growing financial burden of decarbonization regulations on mid-sized European airlines. Carrying millions of passengers with reduced unit revenues tests operational cash reserves.

However, the group's ability to maintain high punctuality and expand seat capacity shows resilient scheduling. Managing fuel cost fluctuations while absorbing legal write-offs remains the primary challenge for the executive team.