newstodate.aero

Sep 27, 2023 (newstodate): Ahead of Norwegian's planned acquisition of the company, Wideroe is suffering a severe set-back with the loss of the ground handling contract with SAS at six Norwegian airports.
   Taking over the handling of SAS at Alesund, Bodo, Haugesund, Kristiansund, Stavanger and Troncheim is Aviator Airport Alliance that is already handling the carrier at Bergen, Tromso, Kristiansand and Bardufoss.
   The new contract with Aviator will take effect from February 1, 2024, reportedly resulting in the loss of 80 percent of Wideroe's handling of SAS.
   In July 2020, Aviator announced an agreement extension with SAS' strong competitor, Norwegian, to provide ground handling services for the airline until March 2024 at 10 stations in Norway, and in 2021 Aviator signed a new three-year partnership agreement with Norwegian for de-icing services taking effect from September 22, 2021.
   However, earlier this year Norwegian opened a Request For Proposals concerning ground handling in Norway, indicating a possible shift when  its current contract with Aviator expires - and expectations are that Norwegian may move its handling in Norway from Aviator to Wideroe Ground Handling when, or if, the acquisition of Wideroe has been approved by the Norwegian Competition Authority.