Originally Posted by
101917
The disaster that is Brexit continues unabated and aviation is going to be no small part of it.
The UK aviation industry, which plays a major part in the economic success of the UK is posed to go one of two ways. Firstly, if the UK remains in EASA, albeit without the right to influence or vote on the ‘rules’ then it may well survive reasonably intact. However, in order for this to happen the UK Government and our aviation companies would be subject to the ECJ which is an anathema to the hard line, right wing Brexiteers as they want nothing to do with the ECJ.
If the UK aviation industry does not remain a member of EASA and is no longer a part of Open Skies, then any or all of the following could occur with unforeseen consequences for the industry.
• The UK retains sovereignty over its airspace and has no say in the EU’s airspace as is allowed now under EASA and open skies
• The UK would have very limited “freedoms” of the air
• Traffic rights would be given by bilateral agreements and not in line with open skies
• The EU and its members would protect their national airlines and aviation companies and limit/prohibit competition from the UK
• The EU would only allow the use of designated airports and not as occurs with open skies
• There could be single airline designation on certain routes from the UK
• There could be limited frequencies / capacity
• A requirement for double approval for fares between the UK and the EU
• A requirement for pooling agreements between airlines flying between the UK and the EU countries
• Prior to open skies most airlines were state-owned. It would be a tragedy if this ever returned.
None of the above would help the UK economy or consumer, including those who voted for Brexit.
It is no surprise that both easyJet and Thomas Cook are setting up headquarters in Europe. Other airlines are looking at ways of protecting themselves.
Finally, a sensible voice from the darkness. I have the inverse problem. I'm a UK CAA licence holder, working in EASA land. I've already had the indirect warning from the company to "kindly ask" an EASA member CAA to convert my UK ATPL licence to an equivalent EASA ATPL licence prior to Brexit, or I could lose my job... It's only a personal, entirely subjective view, and not intended for fuel to fire the for/against Brexit feud, but I feel that Brexit has to be one of the most ill conceived and ill executed policies from the UK in a long long time. Sigh.