The government of the United Kingdom said that it planned to grant all necessary traffic rights to European airlines so that they can continue operating to and from the UK without disruption even in the case of a "no deal Brexit".
"If there is 'no deal' with the EU, airlines wishing to operate flights between the UK and the EU would have to seek individual permissions to operate from the respective states (be that the UK or an EU country). In this scenario, the UK would envisage granting permission to EU airlines to continue to operate. We would expect EU countries to reciprocate in turn," the Department of Transport said in a guidance note published on September 24, 2018.
The government conceded that despite these plans, temporary disruptions are possible, although it said that it would be in the best interest of both the UK and the EU to minimise them.
London would also seek a basic agreement covering traffic rights between the UK and the EU.
"The UK’s preference would be to agree a basic arrangement or understanding on a multilateral basis between the UK and the EU. Alternatively, bilateral arrangements between the UK and an individual EU country could be put in place, specifying the conditions under which air services would be permitted. By definition any such agreement would be reciprocal in nature. The European Commission has previously acknowledged that a ‘bare bones’ agreement on air services would be desirable in the event of the UK leaving with ‘no deal’," the guidance said.
In terms of non-EU flights, the UK government said that nothing would change in relation to services between the UK and 111 countries which currently have a bilateral agreement with London. This group includes China, Brazil, and India.
Traffic to a further 17 countries, including the United States, Canada, Iceland, Switzerland, Norway, and others, mostly EU neighbours, is currently regulated by bilateral agreements between the EU as a whole and the destination country. As such, the UK would stop to be covered by these treaties.
"The UK is working closely with these countries to agree replacement, bilateral arrangements designed to come into force as soon as the EU-negotiated agreements cease to apply to the UK. The UK has already agreed a number of these agreements, and is confident the remaining agreements will be agreed well in advance of the UK leaving the EU," the UK government said.
The notice did not mention the rights to operate intra-EU flights by UK-based airlines, crucial in particular for easyJet.
The UK further said that it would continue to apply EU safety standards and expects that the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) would continue to reciprocate the recognition. The British Civil Aviation Authority would consider all carriers having an EASA authorisation as meeting the necessary safety standards.
The United Kingdom is scheduled to leave the European Union on March 29, 2019. Terms of the leaving itself and the regulations governing the future UK-EU relationship are still under negotiation. In terms of aviation, currently the UK is a member of the EU Open Skies, which allows any carrier registered in any of the 28 EU member states to fly between any two points in the community, regardless of which country they are located in.
In order to prepare for the so called "no deal" or "hard" Brexit, easyJet has already established a EU-based subsidiary in Vienna (easyJet Europe (EC, Vienna)). In turn, EU-based LCCs are setting up units in the UK - Wizz Air UK (W9, London Luton) is already active while Ryanair UK (RK, London Stansted) expects its AOC by the end of 2018.
IAG International Airlines Group, owner of British Airways, is by law a Spanish entity registered in Madrid and would remain an EU company after Brexit.
