UK aviation industry rejects decision to leave EU Aviation Safety Agency
The UK aviation industry has hit back at plans to leave the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) by the end of the year, saying that the move posed a risk to highly skilled jobs in the UK.
The calls come after US magazine Aviation Week reported that transport secretary Grant Shapps had confirmed that the UK would leave EASA, with the agency’s powers reverting to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
Industry body ADS said that such a decision would be against the wishes of the industry, which might find it harder to attract investment without membership of the agency.
ADS chief executive Paul Everitt said that “continued participation” in EASA was “the best option” to maintain the competitiveness of the UK’s £36bn aviation industry:
“It is essential that (the government) works with us to deliver a regime that does not put jobs at risk in an industry that employs 111,000 people in highly skilled roles across the UK”, he added.
British Airways owner IAG also said that it was “disappointed” by Shapps’ decision, saying that the CAA “does not have the expertise required to operate as a world class safety and technical regulator”.
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“The CAA will require fundamental restructuring from top to bottom which will take time. There is no way that it can be done by 31 December”.
Industry body Airlines UK agreed that while the industry had supported continued membership, it was important to avoid the UK “being a dumb follower of EU rules”:
“We urge that negotiations start as soon as possible on a Bilateral Air Safety Agreement with the EU, so that this can be concluded by the end of December.
“Crucially, the starting point must be the current rule set for commercial aviation, which the CAA played such a key role in establishing”.
Tim Johnson, the CAA’s directors, said that the regulator had been planning for this outcome since 2016’s referendum, and that “there will be no immediate changes to aviation regulations at the end of this year, because of these preparations”.
According to ADS estimates, creating a UK safety authority to rival EASA would take at least 10 years, and cost £40m annually. The UK currently pays EASA £1m – £4m a year to be a member.
A spokesperson for the Department for Transport said: “We will maintain world-leading safety standards for industry, with the CAA taking over these responsibilities, and will continue to work with colleagues in the EU to establish a new regulatory relationship”.