Norwegian Air Cutting Flights to the Caribbean

Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air announced it no longer plans to operate flights between the Caribbean, the United States and Canada.

According to the USA Today, Norwegian will no longer offer flights from Montreal, New York City and Fort Lauderdale to the French Caribbean islands of Martinique and Guadeloupe when the airline’s current seasonal service ends.

“We are sad to see the end of our French Caribbean operations, which we launched back in 2015,” Norwegian spokesman Anders Lindstrom told USA Today. “While our routes to Guadeloupe and Martinique have performed fairly well, with cost-cutting measures as a priority and aircraft utilization in focus, it is not financially sustainable as a European airline to each winter season move operations—aircraft, pilots and cabin crew—from Europe to these islands.”

Norwegian has been dealing with financial issues that nearly brought the carrier to bankruptcy, and the decision to cut all unprofitable routes was a necessary change. The flights officially end on March 31.

“Both Guadeloupe and Martinique are hidden gems in the Caribbean and great tourist destinations,” Lindstrom continued. “We truly hope a US-based carrier will be able to step in and fill the gap as we have significantly increased the awareness of these two wonderful islands.”

In addition, Norwegian officials said the airline’s flights from Martinique and Guadeloupe to Cayenne, French Guiana, will also be abandoned.