Norwegian has revealed traffic figures for December continued to be heavily influenced by lower demand caused by continued travel restrictions across Europe.

However, the low-cost carrier said Christmas bookings were positive.

In December, 129,664 customers flew with Norwegian, a decrease of 94 per cent compared to the same period last year.

The capacity (measured in available seat kilometres) and total passenger traffic (in revenue seat kilometres) were both down by 98 per cent.

The load factor was 52 per cent, down 31 percentage points.

Jacob Schram, chief executive of Norwegian, said: “The pandemic continues to have a negative impact on our business as it has had since March.

“At the beginning of last year, Norwegian was headed for a positive result in 2020, instead 2020 has been a very challenging year and we now find ourselves fighting for survival.

“Despite low demand in December, Christmas bookings were positive, and we have succeeded in adapting our operations to the current situation.

“Our goal is to be a financially strong and competitive airline, with a new financial structure, a rightsized fleet and improved customer offering.”

He added: “The support from our customers, employees and suppliers this past year has been extraordinary.

“We all wish to travel and meet our friends and loved ones again and at Norwegian our focus continues to be to connect people in a safe and comfortable way.

“The vaccination is now being rolled out across the world and is good news for both the aviation industry and those who want to travel.

“We will be ready to meet the competition for customers after the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Last year was a tough year, but we will continue to fight and come out of this crisis as a stronger Norwegian,” Schram said.

Norwegian operated nine aircraft on average in December, mainly on domestic routes in Norway.