Norwegian Air Shuttle is adding winter capacity between the United Kingdom and Oslo as part of a joint campaign to attract more British skiers to Norway's mountains instead of the Alps.
The airline said its Manchester–Oslo service will grow from two to five weekly departures this winter, including a new Sunday departure introduced, in Norwegian's words, "with British ski travellers solely in mind". Flights from London and Edinburgh to Oslo will also increase compared with last winter, giving the campaign three direct UK gateways.
Airline, airports and resorts join forces
The capacity boost is one piece of a wider partnership between Norwegian, the resort group Norway Home of Skiing, resort operator Alpinco and Norwegian airport operator Avinor. UK ski specialists Ski Safari, Ski Solutions and Crystal Ski are supporting the push, which will combine digital advertising, consumer events and tour-operator promotions to position Norway as an alternative to the traditional Alpine destinations.
The resorts represented in the campaign are Oppdal, Kvitfjell, Hafjell, Beitostølen, Gausta, Geilo, Myrkdalen, Narvik, Norefjell and Voss. Narvik is set to host the FIS Alpine World Ski Championships in February 2029, which the partners see as another opportunity to raise Norway's profile with international skiers.
The partners are promoting snow reliability, quieter slopes and the wider Scandinavian winter experience as key selling points for British holidaymakers.
A one-third rise in British guest nights
The commercial target is ambitious. "We aim to grow our guest-nights from 150,000 to 200,000 in winter 2026/27, and this dedicated campaign will go a long way towards achieving our objectives," said Trevor De Villiers, chief executive of Norway Home of Skiing. That would represent an increase of roughly one-third in a single season.
For Norwegian, the campaign also flips the usual traffic pattern on its UK routes. "Instead of primarily flying Norwegian tourists to the UK, we can use additional capacity to bring British skiers to Norway. This is both a short-term push for the coming season and part of a longer-term ambition to grow Norway's share of the UK ski market," said Magnus Thome, chief commercial officer of Norwegian Air Shuttle.
Alpinco commercial director Jonas Bjørnerud said the project shows how players in the travel industry "can join forces this way to strengthen Norway's competitiveness in international markets". The partnership has a five-to-ten-year ambition to establish Norway as a stronger alternative to the Alps for British skiers.
Charter flights add to the picture
The scheduled capacity comes on top of growing charter activity between the UK and Oslo Airport. Avinor has previously announced that Crystal Ski Holidays, part of TUI UK, will add a dedicated charter route from Birmingham to Oslo for the 2026–27 winter season, operated by TUI Airways and starting on Sunday, 13 December 2026. That route joins existing ski charters from London Gatwick and Manchester.
Oslo Airport is Norwegian's main base, and the carrier serves the UK with its Boeing 737 fleet. Adding weekend frequencies timed for ski holidays is designed to stimulate inbound demand from the UK, while giving British tour operators more flexibility when building packages around a Saturday or Sunday arrival.
What it means for travellers
For British skiers, the extra flights mean more choice of departure days, particularly from Manchester, where the move from two to five weekly flights is the most significant change. Many of the resorts in the campaign, including Norefjell, Hafjell and Kvitfjell, are within a few hours' transfer of Oslo Airport, making a short weekend or week-long trip practical.
Whether Norway can win a larger slice of a UK ski market long dominated by France, Austria and Switzerland will become clearer over the coming seasons. For now, Norwegian is putting more seats behind the idea, and its partners are betting that snow reliability and quieter slopes will do the rest.
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