Norwegian has announced a new route from London Gatwick to Buenos Aires, marking the airline’s first ever South American route as its UK expansion plans gather pace.

The new route will start in February 2018, and is designed to compete with the current monopoly on direct London to Buenos Aires flights operated by British Airways.

Norwegian already offers affordable long-haul flights from London Gatwick to nine US cities and Singapore.

Buenos Aires will become Norwegian’s eleventh long-haul route from London Gatwick as part of continued expansion from the UK into a range of new global markets.

From February, Norwegian will start a year-round service of four weekly flights from London Gatwick to Buenos Aires Ezeiza International Airport, all on board brand new Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft.

Often called the ‘Paris of South America’, Buenos Aires offers UK travellers a unique mix of European and Latin American culture.

By day, Argentina’s cosmopolitan capital city features classical architecture, over 250 parks and green spaces, sidewalk cafes and world-class shopping.

By night, Buenos Aires boasts a thriving cultural scene including top-class bars, restaurants and theatres; ten yearly festivals including film, jazz and books; and a vibrant music scene giving travellers chance to dance in the home of the tango.

Norwegian chief executive Bjorn Kjos said: “With our new Argentina route we are offering UK passengers more choice and lower fares to another exciting global destination.

“Buenos Aires is a cosmopolitan capital city with something to offer all travellers and Norwegian has fares to suit all budgets.”

“From Europe, the USA, Asia and now South America, our long-haul network is going global and the UK will continue to be at the heart of our ambitious plans for expansion.

“We also see huge potential in the Argentinian market so this is not only a major milestone as our first South American route, it is also a first step towards ambitious plans for international and domestic growth in Argentina.”

The new London-Argentina route will be operated by the UK subsidiary Norwegian UK, which was established in 2015 to give the airline a stronger foothold in the UK market, and allow it to access bilateral traffic rights to a series of new markets in Asia, Africa and South America.

NUK is headquartered at London Gatwick, and will use British-registered aircraft and Gatwick-based crew to operate the new services.

Earlier this year, Norwegian also established an Argentinian subsidiary, Norwegian Air Argentina, with plans for a considerable operation in Argentina, including domestic flights.