The agreement means that airlines will continue to fly from the UK to the US after Brexit. According to the UK government, the deal “will guarantee the continuation of the vital transatlantic routes used by tens of millions of passengers a year, ensuring people can continue to travel easily between the UK and US and maintaining choice and good value travel.”
One of the main worries was that post-Brexit bilateral rules would require airlines to have substantial US or British ownership, which posed a problem for British airlines with significant EU ownership. The agreement will allow them to continue existing operations under the EU-US Open Skies deal.
A US State Department official confirmed late on November 28 that it had completed talks on the agreement that will take effect after Brexit.
Without the deal, British-based carriers including British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and Norwegian Air could have been adversely affected. IAG has also been working to address EU ownership issues after the European Commission said it could fall below EU ownership requirements after Brexit.
Talks for a bilateral air services arrangements are also underway with Canada, while agreements have already been reached with Albania, Georgia, Iceland, Israel, Kosovo, Montenegro, Morocco and Switzerland.
