A no deal Brexit wont halt flights from Europe the UK's government has said this week in new papers published on Monday.
Britain will still allow airlines from the European Union to fly into the UK (and its airspace) even if there is no Brexit deal is agreed and signed.
The UK will keep to European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), regulations and rules in relation to aviation safety the papers confirm. The UK says that functions currently performed by EASA would instead be performed by Britain’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Agency (CAA). The UK would envisage granting permission to EU airlines to continue to operate, the official papers state, with the hope that the EU would reciprocate.
According to the papers, the CAA would need to validate any EASA license used to fly a UK-registered aircraft, and UK-issued licenses would need to transfer to EASA if they wanted to operate EU-registered planes. The vast majority of other aviation safety certificates, including for aircraft and for maintenance, parts and cabin crew, the UK says EASA-issued documents would remain valid in the UK for two years from the date of Brexit. After that, the CAA would need to replace them.
Regarding security at airports, even if there is no deal, the UK doesn't see why the EU wouldn't recognise and accept UK procedures as equivalent to those in the EU, meaning no additional security restrictions or requirements would be needed. However, the EU may choose not to accept UK security protocols and therefore passengers from the UK transferring through EU airports would have to have luggage and themselves re-screened.
(Photos London City Airport. London Stanstead Airport)
