How will Norwegian closing down New York base affect transatlantic travel?

Budget airline Norwegian Air is closing several of their crew and pilot bases as part of a plan to control costs.

The New York Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, which serves the New York City area and where Norwegian’s schedule includes service to three Irish cities, will be closed later his year. However, Norwegian says the closures, which will affect about 30 Norwegian employees, will not affect current flight schedules.

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The budget airline will also close its crew base at T.F. Green Airport in Providence, Rhode Island, reports USA Today.

Norwegian offers service to Dublin, Cork, and Shannon from both Newburgh and Providence.

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Stewart Airport, New York. Credit: DANIEL CASE / WIKICOMMONS

The airline ended its nonstop flights from Newburgh to Belfast in October and will end flights between Newburgh and Edinburgh in March.

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“The company has reached a point where it needs to make necessary adjustments to its route portfolio in order to improve the sustainability and financial performance in this very competitive environment,” Helga Bollmann Leknes, Norwegian Air’s Chief Commercial Officer, said in a statement to Reuters.

The airline is also closing bases at Palma de Mallorca, Tenerife and Gran Canaria in Spain, and their 737-base in Rome.

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