Flights could cease between the UK and the rest of the EU if Britain crashes out of the bloc without a deal, the government has said.
In its latest set of “no deal” notices, the government said flights could be disrupted because the EU-issued aviation licences would not be valid and airlines would have to seek individual permissions to operate with respective states.
“If the UK leaves the EU in March 2019 with no agreement in place, UK and EU licensed airlines would lose the automatic right to operate air services between the UK and the EU without seeking advance permission,” said the government.
The government says it would unilaterally grant EU airlines permission to land at British airports and hopes that member states would reciprocate. “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.”
That would form the basis of a “bare bones” deal with the EU to keep flights in the air, it says, adding: “EU-licensed airlines would lose the ability to operate wholly within the UK (e.g. from Heathrow to Edinburgh), and UK-licensed airlines would lose the ability to operate intra-EU air services (e.g. from Milan to Paris).”
It would also affect flights from Europe into the UK and American airlines connecting to Europe through British partner airlines such as British Airways.
The government says there would be no disruption to air traffic control across British airspace as this is guaranteed under international conventions.
“We’ll provide more information in the coming months, with the aim of giving aviation businesses and passengers as much certainty as possible ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU,” said the notice.
The latest batch of no-deal papers also say that pet owners – specifically those with dogs, cats or ferrets – who want to take holidays in the EU would have to prepare for travel “at least four months ahead in advance of the date they wish to travel”.
Owners would need to prove their animals were effectively vaccinated against rabies, requiring a special test, and then obtain a health certificate. On arrival in the EU, they would then be required to report to a designated entry point with their animals.
The UK is seeking discussions with the EU whereby it would become a “listed third country”, which would mean only minor changes for pet owners and no need for rabies tests months in advance.
But this has not yet happened, and the government said that in theory “pet owners intending to travel to the EU on March 30, 2019, would need to discuss requirements with their vet before the end of November 2018”.
Under no-deal, livestock being exported would also be subjected to sanitary checks, and animal hauliers would need certificates for transport authorisation, adding new levels of red tape for farmers.
The UK would need to be approved by the EU as an exporter, a process that could take more than six months.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) said the revelations underlined the critical importance of agreeing a deal that would deliver free and frictionless trade with Britain’s biggest trading partner. The value of agri-food exports to the EU in 2017 was £13bn, of which £3.15bn was animals and animal products.
The NFU president, Minette Batters, said: “These technical notices confirm in black and white what we already knew: a no-deal scenario would be catastrophic for British agriculture. A scenario where farmers face an immediate trade embargo for many of their products would have devastating effects, and would severely threaten livelihoods and businesses.”
The documents also show that some UK bus and coach services may be unable to access the EU in the event of no-deal. The government intends to join the EU’s Interbus agreement, which in its current form would allow coach holidays and tours to continue.
But it said there was a “greater risk of UK operators being unable to run regular services into the EU” because the agreement did not cover those services, but that the risk “to be low”.
UK operators who wish to take travel bookings for after March 29, 2019, are being told that they “may wish to consider contractual terms with their customers”.