UK and US sign agreement on post-Brexit flights

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The United Kingdom and the United States have reached an "open skies" agreement for post-Brexit flights, said Transportation Secretary Chris Grayling.

This agreement means that airlines will continue to fly from the United Kingdom to the United States after Brexit, the Department of Transportation (DfT) announced.

Flights between countries are governed by the US-EU Open Skies Treaty.

The agreement with the United States is one of nine bilateral air services agreements concluded by the United Kingdom to replace it.

The others are with Albania, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Montenegro, Morocco and Switzerland.

Discussions with Canada are "at an advanced stage" according to the DfT.

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Mr Grayling said that transatlantic flights have brought the United Kingdom and the United States closer together, strengthening our ties and boosting our economies.

The Brexit activist continued: "This new agreement and those concluded with eight other countries of the world prove that the United Kingdom will continue to be a major player on the world stage after our departure from the EU."

"Positive development"

Under this agreement, majority-owned airlines in the EU currently operating between the United Kingdom and the United States will be able to continue using existing routes as long as they remain the property of EU / EEA citizens. or the United Kingdom and they will control them.

However, any airline wishing to establish a future United Kingdom-United States flight that is not owned or controlled by British nationals will be required to request a waiver from the United States Government.

British Airways' parent company, IAG, is registered in Spain and has shareholders around the world.

The managing director of IAG, the parent company of British Airways, IAG, described the air agreement with the United States as "a significant positive development which we welcome".

He said that this "facilitates strong competition and is clearly favorable to consumers".

John Strickland, aviation consultant, said: "The conclusion of this agreement is good news for British airlines operating in the US market.

"It seems that enough flexibility has been negotiated to allow for different scenarios of majority ownership in the UK or the EU, an important point for IAG, as well as for Virgin, becoming a non-UK majority stakeholder. , Air France taking a stake. "

Sir Richard Branson is reducing its stake in Virgin Atlantic to 20% by selling 31% of its business to Air France-KLM.

The agreement between Theresa May and Brussels on the Brexit indicates that the UK and the EU have agreed to negotiate a "global agreement on air transport" for flights between the EU and the Kingdom United Kingdom during the planned transition period, but would not apply if the UK left the EU without agreement.

In September, the government warned that a Brexit without an agreement could disrupt air transport between the United Kingdom and the European Union countries.