A BUDGET airline which claimed to offer cheaper flights to the US is to axe its service.

Norwegian will cut the last of its three US routes from Edinburgh - a year after they were launched.

The airline launched flights from Edinburgh to Stewart in New York State, Providence in Rhode Island and Bradley in Connecticut in June last year.

The Scotsman reports the airline firm is also closing two of its six other routes from Scotland's capital, to Barcelona and Tenerife. They will end next March.

It is believed that Norwegian have made the move because they are closing their base at Edinburgh Airport.

One crew member told the newspaper: "Closing Edinburgh base to all pilots and cabin crew."

The budget airline firm previously blamed the failure of the Scottish Government to halve air passenger duty (APD) this year as ministers had pledged.

APD is not charged on flights into the UK. But if the move was approved, the charge reduced per passenger on flights to the US from £75 to around £37.50.

Norweigian said in January that the Bradley service would end two months later, and in April that the Providence flights would be grounded in October.

A Norwegian spokesman said: "After careful consideration, we have decided to withdraw our transatlantic routes.

"Air passenger duty was the main factor, as it meant that fares were higher than we’d like them to be, which affected the profitability of these routes.

"When we compare it to performance on identical routes from Ireland (where there’s no APD), fares are lower, and profitability is higher in those markets compared to Scotland.

"Our Edinburgh routes to Spain will also be withdrawn from next summer.

"None of these summer 2019 flights are currently on sale.

"The cuts are a reminder to everyone of what is at stake for Scotland’s connectivity if the APD issue isn’t tackled.

"We continually monitor and evaluate routes across our network, and as such we have also decided to withdraw routes from Edinburgh to Barcelona and Tenerife allowing us to focus on maintaining better-performing flights to Scandinavia.

"Edinburgh-based crew will be offered potential relocation to the airline's other bases."

A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: “This is a desperately disappointing decision, entirely caused by a complete failure of the Scottish Government to live up to its commitment to reduce the tax paid by Scots travellers.

“This failure diminishes choice for passengers and is a shot in the arm for European cities already relishing Britain’s isolation from mainland Europe.

“It is not too late to deliver on commitments made before Scotland loses out further, both in terms of jobs and tourism revenue.

“The administrations in Holyrood and Westminster must come together now and focus not just on why things can’t be done, but on fixing this intolerable situation.”