Ryanair Baggae Charges

Ryanair may stop providing flights to and from the UK by the end of 2018 due to Brexit according to the CEO Michael O’Leary.

O’Leary said that if Britain and the EU fail to agree on a post-Brexit aviation deal the airline will no longer be able to sell flights to Britain.

O’Leary and Ryanair’s chief commercial officer David O’Brien said that the company was prepared for a ‘worst-case scenario’ where the UK is no longer part of the EU’s Open Skies air transport treaty according to the Irish Times.

Pic: Ryanair

This air transport treaty allows any airline in the EU to fly to any point in the US and vice versa. However with Brexit on the horizon the UK’s exit from the Union could threaten this treaty.

Ryanair has warned that they would not supply flights between the UK and the EU if Brussels and Westminster have not reached an agreement by the time Britain leaves.

The airline have also planned to move any aircraft that they have based in the UK airports to other European locations if they cannot agree.

Michael O’Leary also said that they would have to stop selling flights between the UK and the EU from December 2018.

ryanair Brexit
Pic: AFP/Getty Images

He added that he hoped that the consequences of Brexit could be highlighted with the change in flights after the UK leave the EU.

‘We will not be basing new aircraft there in 2017 or 2018,’ Mr O’Leary told a press conference as he believes that a hard Brexit is inevitable.

Therefore the company will not be expanding their presence in the UK.

If the UK wants to stay in the Open Skies treaty it would have accept both European Court of Justice rulings and freedom of movement. However the UK are unprepared to accept these!

Pic: Shutterstock

O’Leary went on to say the UK and its government were ‘deluding themselves’ that they could get a good Brexit deal. The airline CEO said that Brussels is going to be as harsh on the UK as possible as they don’t want any more countries leaving the union.

Ryanair began offering connecting flights through Rome Fiumicino Airport last week and will roll it out to other bases if it succeeds.