Varsler dagbøter på 16.000 kroner mot Norse

Through the year, Norse has struggled to handle passengers' complaints. The Norwegian Aviation Authority concluded that the airline has not done enough to protect passengers' rights. In their response sent in the summer, Norse pointed to measures taken, but the authority demanded more: a fine of up to 8,000 kroner per day (excluding Sundays) for each deadline missed.

The authority has received complaints from passengers who have not received the money they believe they are owed. The issue lies in Norse not having enough capacity, exacerbated by a sharp increase in the number of cases. In the past year, the number of Norse passengers affected by major delays more than doubled to over 40,000. The Aviation Authority believes Norse has violated the EU's air passenger rights regulation.

This regulation defines rules for compensation and assistance in the event of canceled flights or major delays. Norse's inability to handle the case volume led to the company having only around 17,000 unresolved claims at the beginning of the year. In August, E24 reported that Norse had 625 resolved claims awaiting payment. Norse has acknowledged and apologized for the treatment time not being in line with the regulation's requirements.

The company has outlined several measures and argued that financial penalties would negatively impact their ability to provide good customer service. The recent decision states: "When the company cannot document a total overview of outstanding claims, and passengers report to Transport Complaints Office and the Aviation Authority that reasonable claims for standard compensation have not been paid, the Authority considers there to be ongoing breach of the duty to ensure passengers' rights."

Norse is therefore required to address the situation, otherwise, the fines will be imposed. This is not just about the individual passenger, according to the Authority: "If individual companies over time neglect to fulfill their financial obligations under the regulation, this can give an economic and liquidity advantage compared to companies that comply with the regulation."

Commercial Director Frans Leenaars of Norse wrote to E24 that they are now working to comply with the Aviation Authority's requirements. He notes that the decision describes the situation inaccurately. According to the decision, Norse has 591 outstanding payments, but roughly half of the identified claims have already been paid, he informs.

Leenaars writes that they continue to work on the remaining cases, with the goal of completing all outstanding payments by October 30. - We have also implemented several improvements in our routines for handling claims and payments.