BALPA has called for the Government to provide much-needed clarity for the aviation industry on Brexit. It is still not clear what agreements will be in place for the air travel industry to continue to operate between the UK and the EU from January onwards. There are also questions about pilot licences and employment rights which remain unanswered.

Brian Strutton, BALPA General Secretary, said,

“I am worried about the increasing talk of ‘no deal’ following the transition period. To be clear, there is no WTO fall back for aviation. At the very least there has to be an air transport agreement in place for flights to continue between the UK and the EU.

“Ideally we would like to see much more than such a bare bones agreement. We would like to see mutual recognition of pilot licences, clarity around the ability of UK and EU pilots to fly aircraft registered in each other’s jurisdictions, and around employment rights for temporary basing.

“We had hoped that the UK Government and the EU side would have reached some sensible arrangements by now, at least in some absolutely key areas such as air travel.

“This industry is in an incredibly fragile state right now. We have already seen some airlines raising red flags to their staff about these issues. Any further damage caused by political posturing or flexing of muscles could be fatal. Enough. We need an agreement and we need it now.”