CAA Board Minutes January 2020
These minutes (Para 11) suggest that the CAA were becoming aware that the Government was likely to U turn on EASA membership in January 2020, just after Johnson won (lied his way to) a huge majority in the December election. As far as I am aware, the CAA didn't change their advice on their microsite so they never suggested that there was any advantage to be had by transferring to an EASA licence or no hint that there would be limitations for UK licence holders (except in the unlikely event of a no deal). We then spent the summer on tenterhooks whilst the people who claimed they held all the cards played a crude game of brinkmanship. Trying to choose the best licencing pathway would have been little more than guesswork, particularly for those in training or out of work.
The CAA could have been more proactive in updating their advice options but they would not have necessarily known which way the traffic rights were going to go in the final Dec 24th CTA. The draft Air Service Agreement negotiating document had been released by the Government over a year prior to this and in this document, there was a clause relating to social issues and not discrimination against or advantaging one group of workers over others. So, it was reasonable to assume that the people who held all the cards would have negotiated this into the final agreement. If not, why not?
Alas, it appears that we didn't hold all the cards after all. As it turned out, we got the bare bones - keep the planes flying deal and UK pilots were well and truly shafted. The CAA could have done more, but in the final few months of Brexit negotiation stand offs, they would have been punished by the Government and the RW press if they had dared to commit Brexit heresy and told the truth by suggested that pilots might be well advised to get themselves an EU licence ASAP.
"Wot! British pilots need a foreign European licence to work in their own country..
That's not what we voted for, we didn't win two world............."
Johnson, Shapps and the ERG crazies have well and truly stitched up the UK pilots but the probably don't care one jot.