Pre-tax profits fell 7% to £80.5 million despite a 12% increase in passenger numbers to 8.6 million, with Gatwick and Oslo showing the strongest growth.

During the quarter, Norwegian took delivery of 11 new aircraft, including two Boeing 737 MAX8 narrow bodies that the carrier used to begin flights from Scotland to the US. It also opened a pilot base in Rome and announced Buenos Aires as its first route in South America, flying from Gatwick.

Load factors remained at 88% despite expansion of 19%. Fuel costs rose 38% year on year.

“I am very pleased with the high load factor for this quarter,” said Norwegian’s chief executive Bjørn Kjos.

“However, we have had significant additional costs for leasing of aircraft, high oil price and the air passenger tax implemented by the government in Norway last year, which have had a negative impact on the result.”

He added: “Bookings and pre-sales for the coming months are looking very good.”