Norwegian Takes Over Ryanair's Cancelled Route at Alicante-Elche Airport

There are ongoing changes at Alicante-Elche airport. The main airlines operating at El Altet terminal continue to make strategic moves and have already presented their schedule for the peak season, which will begin at the end of March with a record 14.7 million seats available.

The leading companies have announced new routes and increased their bases. Ryanair will fly to two cities in Austria and one in Poland, while EasyJet will connect Alicante with Naples and Athens. Another major carrier, Norwegian, has expanded its route to Riga, the capital of Latvia.

Norwegian has taken over from Ryanair after the latter cancelled its connections to this Northern European city. The new Danish airport tax led the Irish company to abandon one of its earliest routes in Alicante, and now Norwegian will connect the airport with Billund.

According to this newspaper, after Ryanair's departure, Norwegian has increased its flight frequencies to twice weekly. Previously, the Norwegian company only flew to this Danish city in the middle of the summer season. However, it will be operational year-round starting June 7.

Norwegian will operate two weekly round-trip frequencies between Alicante and Billund. During peak season, flights will be available on Mondays and Saturdays. Planes will depart Alicante at 7:40, arriving in Denmark at 10:45. In the opposite direction, they will leave Billund at 11:35, landing at El Altet at 14:40, a journey of three hours and five minutes.

In the low season, flights will shift from Mondays to Wednesdays, while Saturdays will remain unchanged. The times will also vary, with departures from Alicante at 8:00 and arrivals in Denmark at 11:05. Conversely, flights will leave Billund at 11:10 to arrive at El Altet at 14:15.

Thus, Norwegian will take over from Ryanair, which recently left the Danish airport and will cease its connection with Alicante from March 29. This route had been operated for over a decade and a half since Ryanair first arrived at Alicante-Elche airport.

The Norwegian airline will have five aircraft permanently based in Alicante and will operate a total of 18 routes to Northern European destinations, according to TodoAlicante. The new route to Riga, the capital of Latvia, will have two weekly frequencies on Tuesdays and Saturdays. Other destinations include Germany, Denmark, and Norway.

In total, Norwegian will fly to 18 cities from Alicante-Elche airport. The airline is also increasing frequencies on several connections, notably those to Arlanda and Skavsta in Sweden, followed by Bergen, Haugesund, and Aalesund in Norway.

The route with the most frequencies will be the one connecting Alicante with Oslo airport, with up to 18 weekly flights, rising above 20 during the summer months, while the Stockholm Arlanda route increases to 14. For Bergen, another route increasing its frequency, it will rise to 9 weekly flights.