Norwegian has been named Europe’s Leading Low-Cost Airline by the renowned World Travel Awards, one of the travel industry’s most prestigious awards.

The World Travel Awards are leaders in the travel sector, with over 650,000 individual votes cast by travel professionals and consumers.

Bjorn Kjos, Norwegian chief executive, said: “This accolade is an important endorsement not only to Norwegian as an airline, but to the work of thousands of dedicated employees across our organisation.

“Their commitment to passenger welfare is unmatched and together with new aircraft, low fares and free Wi-Fi represents what sets Norwegian apart from our competitors.

“We would like to thank the thousands of customers that have cast their vote for Norwegian.”

Norwegian faced competition in the category from renowned international companies such as Aer Lingus, Air Berlin, easyJet, Monarch, Ryanair and Vueling.

Graham Cooke, World Travel Awards president, said: “It is a great honour to present the trophy for Europe’s Leading Low-Cost Airline to Norwegian for the first time.

“Europe is a global leader in low-cost air travel, with some incredibly strong brands making it one of the most competitive markets anywhere on earth.

“To triumph here is a great credit to the work Norwegian is doing and World Travel Awards wishes them every success in their future endeavors.”