BBGA webinar urges positivity for Brexit

It’s time to accentuate the positives in Brexit, delegates listening to the British Business and General Aviation Association’s (BBGA) dedicated webinar heard on 22nd September.

“It’s not all doom and gloom,” insisted Aoife O’Sullivan, The Air Law Firm partner, and chair of BBGA. “We need to appreciate the UK has left the EU now. That’s not going to change. So now we have to step up and take those opportunities.” If there is a ‘no deal’ scenario, there has always been contingency legislation in the UK and Europe that can be brought back in to allow for continuity in aviation safety,” she noted.

“There isn’t going to be a drop-dead moment on January 1st (when the UK leaves),” echoed David Kendrick, the UK CAA’s head of licensing, noting flights will still be going backward and forward, in the absence of a deal.

David Harding, DfT deputy director for general aviation, commented: “Negotiations are complex, but we are preparing for different scenarios. The Government and CAA has been preparing for leaving the EASA system since the EU Referendum in 2016, a number of new people have been recruited already into the CAA. We are working on governance which will be needed on future functions particular on state design and law making. Good progress is being made on preparedness.”

David Kendrick, added: “We are still learning how things will impact us. Negotiations are ongoing, a lot of work is going on and I am very impressed by the DfT team of skilled negotiators. The UK has always had its own Aviation advisor and we have a significant number of agreements outside the EU - roughly 160, these are not going anywhere. We have been trying to share as much information with the industry and passengers’ consumers at an early stage.”

Market access is a concern, however. Notably, how many of the nine aviation freedoms will be accessible to British operators. Fifth and Sixth Freedoms enable operators to fly between two foreign countries on flights originating or ending in their own country or having made a stop in their own country. This is vital for non-scheduled (business aviation operators) and scheduled airlines.

“We are preparing for the next quarter, and need to know our landscape, explained Alex Durand, CEO of independent business aviation operator SaxonAir. Being able to pick up charters elsewhere is critical, he said and this accounts for 20% of its business.

“You’re basically shouting at the wind. But what can we do? We just have to take this opportunity to take stock.” As a sector we are agile - when we know what the rules are, we’ll find ways around them, through them—or even in compliance with them. We just need to know what they are so we can then innovate. We need a firm landscape, but let’s not wait until the end.”

David Harding, conceded cabotage traffic rights are unlikely to be maintained at the end of the transition period. Instead, operators will have to request permission for individual flights.

The CAA’s Rob Bishton and David Kendrick said the agency was prepping to assume full national responsibility for regulating UK aviation, once the departure from EASA is complete. Thereafter, it will have the autonomy to develop its own regulations. David Harding explained: “When we leave EASA will be able to make autonomous decisions based on what is right for the industry and we know this will have to take into account cross border issues as well have to be done on good analysis but there are opportunities, that more will be achieved and tailored to the UK industry. E.g Simplified licensing and work on medical certifications.”

I urge operators to be prepared, said David Kendrick, noting the CAA has been active persuading and influencing operators to apply for those certificates. The majority of UK operators who require them already have those in place. We are also in discussions with EU operators for their operations in the UK and what that might look like going forward, he noted.

Further Brexit positives, the webinar highlighted, will see the UK able to become a favoured location for aircraft deliveries, rivalling Switzerland and the Channel Islands; and becoming as big a player in aircraft leasing as Singapore, Hong Kong and the Ireland. Adrian Jones, Director at tax and import/export advisors Martyn Fiddler Aviation, suggested the UK can excel at closing aircraft sales transactions - which will be good for brokers, lawyers and financiers. Closings would take place outside Europe, yet the aircraft wouldn’t have to be imported into the UK (for tax reasons) with the right warehousing arrangements in place, he said.

BBGA BREXIT Webinar on YouTube

BlueSky Business Aviation News | 8th October 2020 | Issue #576

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