Norwegian Air Shuttle will establish a new base of operations at London’s Gatwick Airport in spring 2013. The airline will offer twelve new routes including two to Croatia.

New routes to Croatia include direct flights to cities of Dubrovnik and Split which will launch on April 6th and operate until October 26th next year. Flights will be operated once a week (on Saturdays) with fares starting from £29.90 one-way to both destinations.

Commenting on the news, Bjørn Kjos, CEO of Norwegian, said:

“By establishing a new base in London, Norwegian will be positioned to meet the future competition on short-haul routes within Europe as well as long-haul routes globally. Growth and volumes are necessary to stay competitive in the airline industry.”

With close to 16 million passengers in 2011, Norwegian is the 3rd largest low-cost airline in Europe. The airline currently operates 64 aircraft on 294 routes to more than 114 destinations across Europe, North Africa and the Middle East.

Tickets for Norwegian’s new flights to Dubrovnik and Split are already on sale via www.norwegian.com.