Espen Høiby sued by former students following flight academy bankruptcy

Espen Høiby, brother of Norway’s Queen Consort Mette-Marit, is facing a lawsuit from 60 former students of the Pilot Flight Academy. The legal action follows the bankruptcy of the aviation school located at Torp Airport in Sandefjord, which left approximately 160 students without training and 40 employees jobless.

Supported by the Parat trade union, the plaintiffs are seeking damages for significant financial losses. Many students had prepaid tuition fees totaling approximately 250,000 Norwegian kroner (roughly 22,000 euros) per person, funds that reportedly disappeared following the institution's insolvency. A report from the bankruptcy administrator has raised suspicions of irregularities, suggesting the academy may have continued collecting fees even as its financial situation became unsustainable.

While regulators suggest Høiby maintained strategic control through a complex corporate structure, his legal defense denies any wrongdoing. His lawyers argue that he held no formal position on the board of directors and did not represent the academy to students. This legal challenge arrives amid heightened scrutiny of the Norwegian Royal Family, following previous controversies involving the Queen Consort’s son, Marius Borg Høiby.