Budget airline announces new direct flights to the US from the UK

ANOTHER low-cost airline has confirmed plans for direct flights between the UK and the US.

Budget airline Norse Atlantic will be able to operate more flights from London Gatwick to New York after being given a foreign air carrier permit.

The airline first started flights from London Gatwick to New York in August.

However, while this was a direct flight from the UK to the US, the flight originated in Oslo.

The new permit means the airline will be able to offer more direct routes from the UK to the US from summer 2023 without having to start in Norway.

The authorisation was issued by the Department of Transport in the US.

This could lead to more US destinations from London Gatwick including to LA, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale from March 2023.

Norse chief executive Bjorn Tore Larsen said: “We are very thankful for the support that we have received on both sides of the Atlantic throughout our application.

“This milestone represents a huge step in creating competition in the transatlantic market that will benefit consumers, stimulate business travel and lead to job creation.

“We are pleased that we will continue to deliver on our pledge to democratise transatlantic travel and we look forward to expanding our point-to-point route network between  and the US as part of our summer 2023 schedule.”

Norse Atlantic first launched in 2021.

The new transatlantic flights take the place of WOW Air, which used to offer £99 flights to the US but went bust back in 2019

And in 2021,  Norwegian Air announced plans to close its long-haul operation and focus instead on a scaled-down European business.

Icelandic airline PLAY is also offering cheap fares to the US from the UK.

If you’re looking for cheap deals, British Airways has launched a flash sale which includes flights to the US.

Here are some other cheap flights too.