Norse Atlantic’s passenger numbers grow 26% in 2025
In 2025, Norse carried a total of 1.84 million passengers.
Norse Atlantic Airways (Norse), the long-haul low-cost carrier that has also begun providing aircraft, crew, maintenance, and insurance (ACMI) services, has unveiled its 2025 passenger numbers, indicating that during the year, it carried 26% more travelers than in 2024.
On January 8, 2026, Norse said that it ended the year with strong growth in December 2025, carrying over 151,000 passengers, an increase of 22% year-on-year (YoY). During the month, it operated a total of 535 flights: 281 of its own, and 254 ACMI and charter flights.
In 2025, Norse welcomed 1.84 million passengers, growing its passenger numbers by 26% YoY. The average load factor, which includes its own flights and ACMI and charter operations, was 96%, up 12% YoY.
According to the airline, the growing passenger numbers and improving load factors reflected its “successful transition to a dual strategy business model in the second half of the year and improved performance in [its] own network.”
At the end of 2025, five of its Boeing 787-9s were flying on behalf of IndiGo, with the sixth aircraft being scheduled to be delivered to the Indian airline “in early 2026,” it added.
Eivind Roald, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Norse, who replaced Bjørn Tore Larsen, the Founder of the airline, to lead the carrier on November 28, 2025, reiterated that the airline ended 2025 on a strong note, underpinned by its “attractive product driving customer demand in a highly competitive market.”
“I am proud to see the steps taken in recent months and the hard work by the entire team have resulted in real progress across our business despite operational and weather challenges impacting a busy year-end holiday period.”
Roald continued that Norse is on track to complete its transition toward operating half of its fleet on its own flights, and the other on behalf of other airlines, with the carrier having 12 787-9 aircraft. The dozen were inherited from Norwegian, which ended long-haul flights amid its reorganization during the pandemic.
All 12 are leased, planespotters.net records showed, with the list of lessors including AerCap and BOC Aviation.
The split business model will allow Norse to generate “stable, predictable earnings” from ACMI operations, while the other half of the fleet will be flying on its “high-graded” network, “complemented by seasonal cruise-related charter flights,” Roald added.
However, Norse warned that it will have to temporarily cut capacity due to “follow-on impacts on the engine maintenance program.” All 12 787-9s are powered by Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engines.
Cirium’s Diio Mi indicated that in January, Norse plans to operate 28 weekly flights, or seven more than in January 2025, on nine routes. These are displayed below:
In comparison, in December 2025, it had scheduled 29 weekly flights, which included flights between New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) and Rome Fiumicino Airport (FCO).
Meanwhile, its 787-9s will operate five routes on behalf of IndiGo in January, with the quintet of itineraries connecting Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport (DEL) and Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (BOM) with four airports in Europe, namely Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS), Copenhagen Airport (CPH), London Heathrow Airport (LHR), and Manchester Airport (MAN).
On February 2, the ACMI route list will expand with direct flights between DEL and LHR, with IndiGo’s current sole DEL route, which is operated with Norse’s 787-9s, connecting the airport with MAN, Cirium’s Diio Mi showed.
Rytis Beresnevicius
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