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British regulators have issued Ryanair’s UK subsidiary an air operators certificate (AOC), thereby safeguarding the airline’s UK-originating operations against a hard Brexit amid continuing uncertainty about a new aviation agreement between the country and the European Union (EU). The UK is set to exit the bloc on March 29 and the sides have not yet concluded a deal on market access and traffic rights. Brussels last month proposed a bare-bones deal, offering British airlines third and fourth freedom rights between airports in the UK and the EU, while London would give European airlines domestic route rights if the EU reciprocates, which appears unlikely to happen.
“We welcome the civil aviation authority’s decision to grant our UK based airline, Ryanair UK, with a UK AOC, allowing Ryanair to operate UK domestic routes and UK-to-non-EU routes in a post-Brexit environment,” Ryanair chief legal and regulatory officer Juliusz Komorek said on Thursday. A spokesperson for the UK CAA confirmed to AIN that Ryanair “has today been issued with a UK AOC.”
The carrier applied for the AOC in late 2017 and gave no details how many aircraft it would potentially relocate to the UK register.
Ryanair’s move for a UK AOC follows a similar one by fellow LCCs Wizz Air and EasyJet. Hungary’s Wizz Air plans to expand its UK subsidiary—it received its AOC in May 2018—with two additional Airbus A320-family jets this summer, taking its the London Luton-based fleet to 11 aircraft. EasyJet established two new AOCs—one in the UK to cover its UK-originating operations and one in Austria for its intra-EU27 flights—to protect its operations from any potential Brexit fallout.
Komorek warned that the risk of a "no deal" Brexit is rising, and he reiterated the company’s call for the UK and EU to agree to a transition deal starting at the end of March, “so that any disruption to flights and British consumer summer holidays in 2019 can be avoided.” He also said ongoing changes to Ryanair’s post-Brexit ownership structure will allow it to adhere to the EU requirement that EU interests own and effectively control more than 50 percent of the airline.
Europe’s largest LCC reported an 8 percent growth in passengers in 2018, to 139.2 million, including traffic registered by its 75-percent-owned Austrian subsidiary LaudaMotion. The growth rate proved markedly lower than the level achieved in past years as it battled with crew strikes across its network and industry-wide air traffic control strikes and delays: it recorded a 10.3 percent rise to 128.9 million in 2017 and a 15 percent increase to 117 million in the calendar year 2016.
While making progress on union recognition and a collective labor agreement, Ryanair faces another set of industrial action in Spain later this month. Two unions representing cabin crew—USO and Sitcpla—have called 24-hour strikes for January 8, 10, and 13.
British regulators have issued Ryanair’s UK subsidiary an air operators certificate (AOC), thereby safeguarding the airline’s UK-originating operations against a hard Brexit amid continuing uncertainty about a new aviation agreement between the country and the European Union (EU). The UK is set to exit the bloc on March 29 and the sides have not yet concluded a deal on market access and traffic rights. Brussels in December proposed a bare-bones deal, offering British airlines third and fourth freedom rights between airports in the UK and the EU, while London would give European airlines domestic route rights if the EU reciprocates, which appears unlikely to happen.
“We welcome the civil aviation authority’s decision to grant our UK based airline, Ryanair UK, with a UK AOC, allowing Ryanair to operate UK domestic routes and UK-to-non-EU routes in a post-Brexit environment,” Ryanair chief legal and regulatory officer Juliusz Komorek said on Thursday. A spokesperson for the UK CAA confirmed to AIN that Ryanair “has today been issued with a UK AOC.”
The carrier applied for the AOC in late 2017 and gave no details how many aircraft it would potentially relocate to the UK register.
Ryanair’s move for a UK AOC follows a similar one by fellow LCCs Wizz Air and EasyJet. Hungary’s Wizz Air plans to expand its UK subsidiary—it received its AOC in May 2018—with two additional Airbus A320-family jets this summer, taking its the London Luton-based fleet to 11 aircraft. EasyJet established two new AOCs—one in the UK to cover its UK-originating operations and one in Austria for its intra-EU27 flights—to protect its operations from any potential Brexit fallout.
Komorek warned that the risk of a "no deal" Brexit is rising, and he reiterated the company’s call for the UK and EU to agree to a transition deal starting at the end of March, “so that any disruption to flights and British consumer summer holidays in 2019 can be avoided.” He also said ongoing changes to Ryanair’s post-Brexit ownership structure will allow it to adhere to the EU requirement that EU interests own and effectively control more than 50 percent of the airline.
Europe’s largest LCC reported an 8 percent growth in passengers in 2018, to 139.2 million, including traffic registered by its 75-percent-owned Austrian subsidiary LaudaMotion. The growth rate proved markedly lower than the level achieved in past years as it battled with crew strikes across its network and industry-wide air traffic control strikes and delays: it recorded a 10.3 percent rise to 128.9 million in 2017 and a 15 percent increase to 117 million in the calendar year 2016.
While making progress on union recognition and a collective labor agreement, Ryanair faces another set of industrial action in Spain later this month. Two unions representing cabin crew—USO and Sitcpla—have called 24-hour strikes for January 8, 10, and 13.