Ryanair’s (LON:RYA) chief financial officer, Neil Sorahan, has warned that the carrier may have to halt flights from the UK for “weeks or months” after April 2019, if the government does not achieve an early bilateral Brexit deal.
Low-cost carriers such as Easyjet and Ryanair have the right to fly to, from any EU country given the single aviation market created in the 1990s. Following Brexit, the UK has just two years to renegotiate its access to the market unless it comes up with an alternative system.
“Europe has been very clear in recent days that no deals are going to be put in place, they are not planning to put any special deals in place,” Sorahan told the Guardian.
“If there was a cliff-edge scenario with World Trade Organisation rules and no bilateral on open skies in place, there is a distinct possibility that there will be no flights for a period of time between Europe and the UK.
“The impact on business would be disastrous.”
Sorahan continued to say that if Ryanair could not continue business in the UK, it would look into growth opportunities in Italy, Spain and Eastern Europe following Brexit. It would also look into growth in Scandinavia and Germany.
“Our message to Theresa May is ‘Please make your mind up quickly and get a decision on an aviation deal and continue to keep Britain flying,’” he added.
“The only positive, I suppose, for our customers, is that this will lead to lower fares, as we have to stimulate the market,”
Ryanair is in talks with the Department for Transport and the Department for Exiting the European Union. The air carrier said that they have not been given any indication that a new open skies deal is a priority.
Carolyn McCall, EasyJet chief executive, revealed the company was planning to register an aircraft that flies entirely within the EU in a new company in Europe in preparation for Brexit (LON:EZJ).