Budget carrier Norwegian is adding three weekly departures from Manchester Airport to Oslo Gardemoen to its UK schedule of 89 flights a week from 31 October 2011.

The launch of the Norwegian service has been spurred by the interest in Premier League football in the North West.

Andrew Harrison, managing director of Manchester Airport, said: “European connections to major capitals like Oslo are an important part of the network offering from Manchester. We’re pleased that the popularity of Manchester as a tourist destination is available to an increasing number of visitors who are coming to see teams like Manchester City and Manchester
United. There is so much to see here in the North West and we’re delighted to see Norwegian arriving in Manchester.”

Daniel Skjeldam, chief commercial director of Norwegian, said: “The instant success of the London route has triggered our desire to offer increased flexibility to our passengers. In order to be a competitive player and an attractive alternative for business travellers, it’s important to increase the number of daily flights while keeping low fares.”

Norwegian is Scandinavia’s second largest airline and Europe’s fourth largest low cost carrier. Rival SAS already flies between Manchester and Oslo.