You may have seen the article on the front page of the Sunday
Times yesterday (16 December 2018). I hope you will also have
seen the very strong rebuttal from No 10 which followed this
story. I wanted to write to you today to provide some further
reassurance and to be clear on our position.
As you will already be aware, both the UK and the EU have made clear their desire to
ensure flights between the UK and EU continue in any scenario. I
believe both the UK and the EU have a determination to retain
the aviation links which bring such significant economic and
cultural benefits for both sides.
Indeed the UK made
this clear in its technical notice on air
services for flights to and from the UK published on 24 September.
And the EU set out
its intention to ensure this outcome in a Commission
communication on 13 November.
This department fully recognises the importance of giving
passengers and businesses confidence to book their holidays and
business trips to and from the EU after Brexit.
So as I mentioned at the last industry roundtable, we are
exploring what communications will be needed to provide that
reassurance. I would like to continue to work with you on
precisely this in the coming days.
I hope this provides you with some reassurance and look forward
to further discussions with you in the coming weeks and months.
