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| - Low-cost carrier Norwegian Air Shuttle filed for bankruptcy protection in Ireland on Wednesday for two of its main subsidiaries in a bid to shield itself from creditors long enough to find a solution for a financial restructuring. "Seeking protection to reorganise under Irish law is a decision that we have taken to secure the future of Norwegian," the head of Europe's third-biggest low-cost airline, Jacob Schram, said in a statement. "Our aim is to find solutions with our stakeholders that will allow us to emerge as a financially stronger and secure airline," he said. Based in Ireland, the two subsidiaries are Norwegian Air International Limited, which operates a large number of the company's international flights, and Arctic Aviation Assets, which manages its fleet of aircraft. Despite a vast restructuring earlier this year, Norwegian, which employed 10,000 people and had 140 aircraft in service at the start of the year, is fighting for its survival. Already saddled in debt before the pandemic, the company has, like the rest of the airline industry, been hit hard by the restrictions to limit the spread of the virus. On November 9, the company suffered a devastating blow when the Norwegian government refused to dole out more cash after granting the company guarantees of three billion kroner (277 million euros) earlier this year. phy/po/pma
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