What happens to UK aviation if UK votes to leave the European Union?
 

What happens to UK aviation if UK votes to leave the European Union?

So, June 23rd, the UK votes to leave the European Union, we have a few years of transition and negotiations and then we face the consequences.

There must be a multitude of implications for the UK aviation industry as a whole, but more interested here in private and business aviation - GA. Assuming we are still compliant with EASA requirements when operating a UK-registered aircraft, but a non-EU country, what impact may that have on border protocols, passenger inconvenience, taxes, duties, security protocols, screening, aircraft import, export, leases, financing, legal and contractual matters etc.

Exchange rates will definitely shift and global industry players will either see the UK as a complete pain in the proverbial or a great hub to centre their European aspirations, perhaps? Will Air Passenger Duty (APD) go or stay? Where will it place us on our emissions regulations? Will we have more restrictive noise limitations, or less? Will the extensive use of aircraft registers of convenience be extended or curtailed if we are out – IoM, Jersey, Guernsey, Malta etc.

The list is endless really.

So, bottom line, will bailing out of the EU likely be better or worse for the UK-based business aviation sector? Or, more or less convenient, more or less costly for overseas visitors in private/business aircraft coming to the UK? Will we see an exodus of UK-based operators (or their aircraft) back into the EU, or onto EU registers?

Thoughts and commentary are welcome. The clock is now ticking.

Switzerland is not part of the EU. Think they are doing a-okay...

G-reg private aircraft operating on an AOC and flying largely within continental EU will probably start switching to EI-, OE-, 9H- etc, if traffic right restrictions start causing problems.

Much like EZY who'll have to consider an EU AOC for inner-EU ops.

All non-AOC G-reg aircraft will remain largely unaffected and maybe even better off....

Will it have an effect/impact on non uk pilots applying in the uk for a job?

Yes - if you're an EU citizen you'll lose your automatic right to employment in the UK. You'll need to apply for a work visa.

Well there is one major difference: the Swiss still meet most of the EU regulations and this has grown over time. If the UK leaves the EU they will go back to square one.... Every single treaty rule and regulation will have to be renegotiated and this will take years... In the mean time this will mean that a lot of companies will leave the UK pronto! :hmm:

As London is not England I think that Boris made a BIG error as London has the most to loose... On the up side I can probably afford a house in London after the Brexit :E

G_G, maybe, but I think the Eurokings - Juncker etc - will not allow the loot go to someone else. Meaning: they will do any and everything to keep the Brits in and IF this fails, they will give em a lot of leeway.

Just imagine the amount of Polish and Hungarian etc working in the UK - if they flood back unemployed, the whole thing will implode pronto. And thats just the tip of the iceberg.

It wouldn't necessarily change anything. Even if the UK leaves the EU, they would still have a trade agreement like Switzerland, Iceland and Norway have today via the EFTA. All three these countries are not EU member but are EASA member.

As far as labour goes, I think the UK has enough problems finding pilots for their aircraft. And if you fly for BA, Easy etc, you can have an EU base and still fly on an UK AOC. There are plenty Emirate pilots with AMS, FRA, LHR base that fly on an Emirate AOC.

I think if anyone assumes we can renegotiate new bilateral agreements, trade agreements, compliance agreements etc. within a year or two and everything will be much the same as it is today, needs their head examining. Nobody has ever LEFT the EU before - this is all new.

Assume more paperwork than you could possibly imagine, more than the EU already develops, and a decade or more before we all know where the land lies.

It will be chaos for years.

You mean more than there is already ?

There's a certain Chief HOI at Gatwick who will probably want to top himself if he has to re-write the rules yet again.... :p

If the good people of the U.K. vote to leave the EU I'm pretty sure that the government is not so stupid to leave the EU for a new trade and cooperation agreement is in place. Not even they are so suicidial.

P.s. I'm not British

It will be great for us Brits if they kick all the foreign Pilots out of the U.K! Think of all us Brits coming home from the sandpit and Europe to fly for BA......A job for all British Pilots with BA or at least TAG is part of the deal if we leave right?:E

Son Of A Beech - All Emirates pilots have the same base - DXB

Didn't British registered aircraft use to fly to the Continent well before this EU nonsense?
Other than between 1939 and 1945 of course.

It's not insignificant that Ryanair, Easyjet and all the others want the UK to stay in the EU, as do all the airports (in the UK). They've done the homework, all the 'freedoms to fly', cabotage rules etc. start coming into play, rules and regs start getting ambiguous, it's not going to be a simple transition, it will be a staggering pain in the backside for a huge number of pen-pushers.

I can see a pile of UK business moving offices at least to the likes of Dublin, with just 12.5% corporation tax an added advantage. Might be some other odd moves - say Latvia or Lithuania, again, very low corporation tax, low labour rates for an MRO operation too, indeed any staff. Aircraft will be placed on EU flags of convenience, the UK CAA will have little to do anymore as all the AOC operations will be out of their jurisdiction....

Naaa easy really we will just overnight attach to the USA incorporate FAA rules and away we go ! No worries

Thinking about it we could sign up to being an independent state of the USA instead open up USA airbases in the UK like we used to have so security not an issue! Incorporate USA immigration and work requirements

What's the hassle ? If you jump out of bed with one just jump into bed with another :ok:

How about the UK taking the lead on setting up a new Euro-club, 'EU2' with those outside of the Euro Zone or not in the EU at all, so say UK, Switzerland,Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland etc., all the free trade stuff but none of the rest of the red-tape. If we're really desperate for more mates to join our new club, then bring in all the odd-balls, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzecovina, Moldova, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Albania, Andorra, San Marino, Armenia and hey the Vatican City!

Once any of the Eurozone members want to follow the UK's lead and swap members clubs, the rest will tumble like a pack of cards and we'll end up with a new EU2 with all the benefits and none of the disadvantages.

Good to have some competition.

The UK will need to establish the same sort of EEA agreement that grants Norway access to the EU's internal market.


From the 23,000 EU laws currently in force, the Norway EEA has incorporated around 5,000 (in force), meaning that Norway is subject to roughly 21% of EU law. This arrangement facilitates free movement of goods, capital, services and people between the EU and EFTA members.


Free movement of goods means freedom from customs fees, where however food and beverage is excluded (because those are susidised by the EU). Free movement of people means freedom of workers to travel between the non-EU country (Norway or maybe the UK) and EU, however Norway is a part of the Schengen area and the UK is not. Bit of a challenge there for starters.


So, somebody needs to sift through those 23,000 EU laws after June 23rd and pick out the ones we need to adopt, to continue to trade unconstrained with our EU friends.


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