Article from BTNews 7 JANUARY 2019
Post-Brexit moves stepped up
Airline preparations for life after Brexit have moved into top gear after Ryanair was granted a UK air operator’s certificate and re-registered a Boeing B737-800 from the Irish fleet as its first aircraft in the country.
Noting “the risk of a no-deal Brexit is rising”, the airline said in a statement the move “will allow Ryanair to operate UK domestic and UK to non-EU routes in a post-Brexit environment, if necessary”.
However, it added: “Despite our robust post-Brexit structures, including our post-Brexit plan around European ownership, we continue to call for the UK and EU to agree a transition deal from 31 March 2019, so disruption to flights … can be avoided.”
Plans at easyJet for a post-Brexit structure are also at an advanced stage, a spokesman said last week. “We have put in place three operating airlines, in Austria, Switzerland and the UK, in order to be able to maintain flying both between the UK and Europe and within Europe.”
Budapest-based Wizz Air, with a largely central and east European network, was awarded a UK AOC last spring (BTN 7 May 2018) and registered eight Airbus A320s in the UK.
Meanwhile, Spanish-registered BA parent International Airlines Group (IAG) is said to be attempting to prove to the EC it would still be considered a majority EU-owned company in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
www.ryanair.com www.easyjet.com https://wizzair.com
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