Norwegian Air’s April passenger count drops 99% year-on-year

OSLO (Reuters) – Norwegian Air’s passenger volume fell by 98.7% in April from a year ago as most of its fleet was grounded amid travel restrictions caused by the novel coronavirus pandemic, the budget carrier said on Thursday.

The company transported 41,311 passengers, down from 3.14 million in April 2019.

Shareholders, bondholders and lessors agreed this week on a plan to convert nearly $1 billion of debt into equity and raise up to 400 million Norwegian crowns ($39 million) from the sale of new shares in a bid to rescue the airline.

(Reporting by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Jan Harvey)