Europe’s third-largest budget airline has come under fire after it emerged online that flight attendants were refusing passengers food, water and even blankets on its recently launched long-haul flights to New York and Bangkok.
A 16-year-old spent his Oslo to New York flight freezing since he only had cash and no credit card with him to pay the $US5 fee charged by the carrier for renting a blanket, the daily newspaper Aftenposten wrote.
That followed a report last week of Norwegian crew members taking back a cup of coffee from a Thai woman after it was revealed she only had cash and a local credit card with her. The woman was also unable to buy food or water on the 12-hour flight.
“This is totally unacceptable. Norwegian must ensure its passengers are treated well and we apologise deeply,” company spokesman Lasse Sandaker-Nielsen told AFP on Monday.
“We are the first to admit that we have had some start-up problems on the long-haul flights.”
The two episodes quickly drew the ire of social media users.
“Unbelievable that people have the courage to fly Norwegian. Not being able to drink water can lead to death,” said Thor Olsen on Twitter, while Tor Andre Ljosland speculated that “soon you will also need a credit card to use the toilet”.
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