Norwegian airline Widerøe has announced the first direct flights from London Stansted to the southern Norwegian city of Kristiansand, launching on August 13th next year.

Kristiansand is a family destination and a gateway to small idyllic coastal towns, inland woods, elk safaris and rivers well suited for white water rafting and salmon fishing.

Stein Nilsen, chief executive at Widerøe, said: “Following extensive market research, we believe that the new London Stansted to Kristiansand service will be a popular addition to our network map in 2018.

“We know that London is always in high demand amongst Norwegian travellers and see enormous potential for growing inbound tourism and opening travel links for Brits travelling to Sothern Norway and Kristiansand.”

The new route has been very well received by the regional tourism bodies in the Sørlandet (southern Norway) region.

Heidi Sørvig, chief executive at the destination marketing organisation USUS, said: “We are delighted about the new service and this announcement from Widerøe.

“A London service has been highly requested in the region for many years and will open up tourism links and business opportunities in the region.

“Southern Norway offers many fantastic travel products and experiences that we are looking forward to introducing to British travellers.

“One of them is the largest underwater restaurant in the world, set to open in 2019, which we believe will be a world class attraction and of great interest to British visitors.”

The first flights, operated on 78-seater Dash-8 Q400 aircraft from Stansted to Kjevik Airport will take off in August 2018.

Mats Sigurdson, London Stansted Airport aviation director, said: “We’re delighted to welcome Widerøe to London Stansted, another new airline providing passengers with even more choice.

“I’m sure this news will be welcomed by Norwegian travellers wishing to visit London and the east of England, as well as the Norwegian community living in the UK.

“This makes a beautiful region of Norway more accessible to British travellers and we’re pleased Widerøe chose to operate to London Stansted Airport.”