EU warns UK airlines on flying after Brexit

British airlines will lose all flying rights the European Union has negotiated with third countries as well as those negotiated by individual EU states after Britain quits the bloc, the EU executive said in a note.

In a notice to all airlines, a stark reminder of the risks facing the sector if there is no Brexit deal, the European Commission said UK air carriers would no longer enjoy traffic rights under any air transport agreement to which the EU is a party, such as the US-EU Open Skies agreement.

They would also lose flying rights under agreements between individual EU member states and third countries as they would not longer be considered EU airlines.

In addition, all operating licences granted by the British civil aviation authority will no longer be valid for the EU, the notice said, which means the airlines would be cut off from the intra-EU market.

“In order to continue benefiting from the freedoms of establishment and to provide air services within the EU internal market as of the withdrawal date, air carriers are advised to consider any measure required to ensure that the conditions for holding an EU operating licence are complied with in all circumstances,” the notice said.

Airlines based in the EU have the right to fly to, from and within any country in the bloc thanks to the single aviation market was created in the 1990s, but Britain now has less than two years to renegotiate access or come up with an alternative system.