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Flights between France and the UK could be grounded in no-deal Brexit

The Local France
The Local France - [email protected]
Flights between France and the UK could be grounded in no-deal Brexit

The British government has released a new set of Brexit "impact notices" on Monday, one of which warns that if there's a no-deal divorce with the EU then planes between the UK and France plus other EU countries could be grounded.

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Flights between the UK and France would almost certainly be hit if Britain leaves the bloc without a deal because EU licences would not be valid, London has warned.

In its latest set of impact notices the British government has warned that planes would be stuck at airports after Brexit Day on March 29th because the aviation licences issued by the EU would not be valid.

That would mean airlines having to apply for "individual permissions" to operate between respective states.

This is what the government said in full:

"If the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 with no agreement in place, UK and EU licensed airlines would lose the automatic right to operate air services between the UK and the EU without seeking advance permission.

"This would mean that airlines operating between the UK and the EU would need to seek individual permissions to operate. EU-licensed airlines would lose the ability to operate wholly within the UK (e.g. from Heathrow to Edinburgh), and UK-licensed airlines would lose the ability to operate intra-EU air services (e.g. from Milan to Paris).

"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. It would not be in the interest of any EU country or the UK to restrict the choice of destinations that could be served, though if such permissions are not granted, there could be disruption to some flights.

"In order to ensure permissions were granted and flights continued, 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’.

"In the scenario where a provisional deal is agreed for air services, airlines will continue to be required to apply for the following associated permissions."

For more information you can read the full impact notice here.

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Anonymous 2018/09/26 00:37
How would this affect the Euro tunnel?

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