Airports urge the UK and EU to make contingency plans for no-deal brexit
The UK and EU are pushing to reach a deal before brexit takes effect in March next year. However, with a deal still not being reached, industries are preparing for the impact a no-deal brexit could have. Now, airports are the latest industry to warn that neither is fully prepared for the prospect of a deal not being reached and has urged for contingency plans to be made “as a matter of urgency”.
Europe’s airport trade association recently called for Britain and the EU27 to make “adequate contingencies” for the effect it will have on aviation. In a letter addressed to the commission, Olivier Jankovec, director general of Airports Council International (ACI) Europe expressed concerns over the lack of progress that’s been made on aviation issues in the negotiations.
He said “It is now becoming urgent to obtain clarification on the rules that will apply to allow the aviation industry to prepare and anticipate the impact of a no-deal scenario. Anything more restrictive than the current Single Aviation Market regime will come at a cost — there is just no winning alternative.”
In particular, he’s urged for more details to be released on what a no-deal brexit would mean for the industry, for market access and for airline ownership and control. For example, if flights carrying both cargo and passengers would still be allowed to continue running; and if they were, would the frequency or routes be affected in any way.
The commission has said on several occasions that it will “prepare for every eventuality, including no deal”, which applies to every sector – including aviation. The commission has said that currently, in the case of a no deal brexit scenario, most flights would have to stop as the licenses issues by the EU for UK based airlines would no longer be valid. But, in the letter to brexit negotiators, Olivier Jankovec points out the importance of “essential air connectivity”, and how it must be safeguarded if a no-deal situation was to happen.
