EC Strives for Smooth Air Traffic Deal

Last week the Commission adopted two temporary measures to avoid full interruption of air traffic between the European Union and the United Kingdom and to ensure basic connectivity.

Reciprocity
The first one is a proposal for a Regulation to ensure temporarily, for 12 months, the provision of certain air services between the United Kingdom and the EU27 Member States, allowing air carriers from the United Kingdom to fly across the territory of the Union without landing, make stops in the territory of the Union for non-traffic purposes, and perform scheduled and non-scheduled international passenger and cargo air transport services.

This is subject to the United Kingdom conferring equivalent rights to air carriers from the Union, as well as to the United Kingdom ensuring conditions of fair competition.

Safety
The second one is a proposal for a Regulation regarding aviation safety to extend temporarily, for 9 months, the validity of certain existing licenses, to address the specific situation in the aviation safety sector where the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) can only issue certain certificates on the basis of a license issued in a third country, while the United Kingdom can only issue licenses as of the withdrawal date, when it has regained the status of "State of design".

Only EU level contingency action is necessary and possible to ensure the required legal framework to avoid the abrupt interruption of activities in the area of air transport. Additional national measures are not necessary. This too is subject to the UK conferring equivalent rights to EU air carriers, as well as the UK ensuring conditions of fair competition.

Marcel Schoeters in Brussels