GATWICK Airport has been handed a boost by the imminent arrival of a new airline.

Norse Atlantic Airways is due to start operating from Gatwick Airport next year.

Unite The Union says the arrival of Norse Atlantic Airways is a much-needed boost for the UK aviation industry.

The airline, which runs as a low-cost inter-continental operator, is expected to hire former employees of Norwegian Air, which stopped its UK operation earlier this year.

Unite regional officer Claire Simpson said the arrival of Norse Atlantic Airways will be a boost for Gatwick Airport and the UK aviation sector, which is going through a “torrid time economically” amid continuing uncertainty surrounding international travel.

“Norse Atlantic Airways is looking to start operations next year and this will be a vital opportunity for former Norwegian Air Resources employees, many of them Unite members, who were made redundant in January,” she said.

“It is also positive for the local economy as it will be generating employment at Gatwick through ground services and other suppliers, as well as adding to the footfall through the airport, when there has been little to cheer about at the airport recently.”

The Argus: Norse Atlantic Airways is due to start operating from Gatwick Airport next year Norse Atlantic Airways is due to start operating from Gatwick Airport next year

Unite representatives met with Norse Atlantic Airways last week and is set to agree a timetable for further discussions on the collective bargaining agreements for their members following the signing of the recognition agreement earlier this year.

The news comes a week after it was announced that Gatwick Airport had lost £244.6 million during the “most challenging six months the airport has witnessed”.

The forced travel bans and a collapse in demand saw just 569,000 people pass through the airport from January to June.

Citing expensive PCR tests and long isolation rules, Gatwick Airport bosses said the government "needs to act now" to allow a return of freedom of travel - or risk lagging behind Europe

The airport was forced to reduce operating costs by 34.4 per cent in the first half of the year through the renegotiated contracts and temporary infrastructure shutdowns.

As a result, staff costs are £31.3 million lower (46.4 per cent) in the first half of the year.