The aerial highway between
the UK & EU could get messy as post-Brexit negotiations take place,
said Investopedia, a website based in New York City that focuses on investing,
finance education and analysis.
The creation of the EU saw tourism in Europe
grow as low-cost airlines flourished. However, following the triggering
of Article 50, the European Commission has said U.K. carriers will be
forbidden to travel between European cities and will be left to direct
flights in and out of the U.K.
Airlines have continually called for U.K.
officials to sign a bilateral agreement with EU officials to allow the
continuation of intra-Europe flights.
Under potentially tight restrictions, European
airlines would be forbidden to operate flights between U.K. cities.
As Article 50 was triggered, Ryanair officials
declared seeing a "distinct possibility of no flights between Europe
and the U.K." for a period of time after March 2019.
Airlines have been some of the most outspoken
critics throughout the Brexit campaign.
Virgin founder Sir Richard Branson accused
the pro-Brexit campaign of misleading voters and said the result would
be so detrimental to the British economy that a second referendum should
be called. "Thousands and thousands of jobs will be lost as a result
of this.
“Thousands of jobs that would have
been created will be lost, and the knock-on effect will be so dire,"
Branson said after the vote.
Airlines Do The Two Step
Recently Ryanair created a new airline branded
Ryanair UK and landed an AOC from UK CAA as insurance to be able to operate
flights within the United Kingdom and to gateways in the EU, post-Brexit.
Wizz Air has also secured an AOC from the
UK CAA.
Elsewhere EasyJet reportedly set up a new
company based in Vienna to enable the airline to operate flights within
the EU.
Some other carriers are looking back in
time to keep flights going.
KLM said that, post Brexit, it expects to
continue operating to the UK by invoking the 1960s bilateral agreement
between the Netherlands and the UK that established mutual flying rights
between the two countries.
So the dance continues, as the word up that
there shouldn’t be any disruption to flights after the UK exits
the EU, sounds increasingly hollow with no specific deals in place.
The airlines and others make it clear that
no one wants to be the fool on April 1, left at the gate without a deal.
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