What does Brexit mean for our industry?

With so much at stake, those working in the ground handling industry should most certainly be worried about Brexit. The UK is the largest aviation market in Europe with over 250 million passengers per year — one out of every four passengers in Europe starts or lands at a British airport. Hence traffic between the UK and EU airports is of great significance to almost all EU airlines, and therefore to us as well. A healthy airline industry is essential for a healthy ground handling industry.

So what happens next? There are two likely scenarios. The first is that some sort of deal can be reached that would preserve the status quo for the aviation sector. Needless to say, this is the option ASA and the whole industry actively lobbies for. The second scenario is a more sombre one, where the UK exits the EU without a deal in place. A ‘no deal Brexit’ would result in the UK having to leave the common European aviation market as well as EASA. Moreover, the UK would drop out of the various Open Skies agreements that the EU has negotiated with countries around the world, most notably the US.

This ‘no deal’ scenario would hit the aviation industry particularly hard, as the sector is not covered by WTO rules. There is no adequate fall-back position: The decades-old bilateral agreements that pre-date the EU’s common market are simply no longer fit for purpose. The worst case is that come 29 March 2019, traffic between the UK and the EU and other countries would sharply decline. And should the UK also leave EASA, Brexit could potentially impact safety, as the UK CAA has already made it clear that it is in no position to take over all of EASA’s tasks by next year.

Is there anything the ground handling industry can do about this? Yes, there is. In March we wrote to key members of the British government outlining our position, and we are supporting other aviation stakeholders who do the same. We now need to keep up the pressure and make sure that aviation remains high on the agenda over the coming crucial months of negotiation. Fortunately, the whole sector has been fully aligned and very vocal in pointing out the risks associated with Brexit, from handlers to airports and airlines, trade unions, logistics providers and aircraft manufacturers.

I remain cautiously optimistic. Unlike other areas of negotiation, we believe that in the case of the aviation industry, the interests of all parties involved are very much aligned. Government, industry and the public all want to ensure reliable and safe air travel with our neighbours and trading partners. The political and economic costs of millions of passengers being stranded or unable to travel would be extremely high, and both sides would be blamed. We therefore hope that a mutually beneficial agreement that will preserve the international air traffic status quo can be reached in due course.

Still, I would recommend that you draw up a contingency plan for your organisation without delay, as rational minds do not always prevail.

The ground handling industry is far from insignificant. It is a fast-growing and globally active sector with tens of thousands of employees across the EU and UK. By banding together, we can show our support for the establishment of a sensible aviation agreement to come into effect come March 2019.

Jon Conway - Airport Services Association

Written by

Director General for Airport Services Association! @ASA_aero is the global #trade association for the independent ground and #air cargo #handling industry.

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