No-deal Brexit would disrupt some flights, UK confirms
Flights to and from the EU could be disrupted if there is a no-deal Brexit and pet travel would be more complicated, the British government confirms in a new batch of contingency planning papers.
There would also be impacts on quality and geographic origin labels for food (such as the AOP) and on car insurance, the papers say.
A paper on air travel says EU-licensed airlines would no longer be able to operate services inside the UK (eg. Heathrow to Edinburgh) and UK airlines could not operate ones inside the EU (eg. Nice to Paris).
It also says UK and EU licences airlines would lose their automatic right to operate services between the UK and EU and would need to seek individual permissions to operate. The UK says it would give this permission to EU firms and hopes the EU would do the same.
The paper says: “It would not be in the interest of any EU country or the UK to restrict the choice of destinations that could be served, though, if such permissions are not granted, there could be disruption to some flights.”
The UK says it would seek to agree a new multilateral agreement between the UK and the EU states, or bilateral ones with individual countries if that is not possible.
As for non-EU and non-UK airlines, the UK says it is putting in place arrangements with 17 countries which currently only have the right to fly to the UK due to its EU membership.
The UK says it would retain EU passenger rights laws with regard to air passengers on flights leaving the UK.
On the issue of pet travel, the UK says that pet owners wanting to take pets on holiday in the EU may have to discuss preparations with an official vet at least four months before travel if the UK is an ‘unlisted’ third country when it leaves.
However if the UK is able to arrange for the EU to add the UK to a list of approved third-countries before Brexit then the requirements should not be much more onerous than now. Even so, the UK could no longer issue EU pet passports and a vet’s health certificate would be needed for each trip to the EU.
In other new papers the UK government says:
- It would no longer be required to recognise the EU’s quality and geographic protection labels such as the appellation protégée, however EU producers could apply for a new UK protection label that would be created to replace the EU schemes. Producers of some 88 British products which have EU labels could apply for the new UK one. The UK “anticipates” that the EU would continue to protect its products however if that was not the case then UK producers could apply to the EU for protection as third country producers.
- British drivers would need an international certificate of insurance from their insurance providers, called a green card (unless the EU and UK agreed to waive this before Brexit day). This may involve a small extra fee from the insurer. Drivers from the EU would require the same to travel in the UK.
