Airlines warned on post-Brexit flight restrictions

British airlines could face severe restrictions on European flights immediately after a “hard” Brexit, the European Commission has warned, as the UK prepares for the formal process of leaving the EU. Commission officials recently told British airline representatives that under a transitional deal after a hard Brexit, UK carriers would be able to operate only direct flights between the UK and the EU, according to two people familiar with the discussions. Under such restrictions, airlines such as EasyJet and BMI, which currently fly between destinations in the continental EU, such as Milan to Munich, would not be able to operate such routes without changing their status. Should Britain also impose the same restrictions on EU airlines, Ryanair could be prevented from operating intra-UK flights. The probability of a hard Brexit has risen since Theresa May, the prime minister, made clear her plans to leave the EU’s single market and end the authority of the European Court of Justice over British courts. But one big question is whether the UK will accept European aviation law, over which the ECJ has the ultimate say. EasyJet has said since last year’s referendum that it intends to set up a new EU-based company with a European air operators’ certificate to handle intra-EU flights. The company has said it expects the process to cost GBP10m over two years. But the commission’s warning highlight the changes facing the aviation industry as May’s government triggers the Article 50 divorce clause of the EU Treaty. The moves EasyJet has embarked on would involve establishing its new company on the continent as its principal entity, with a UK subsidiary to run intra-UK flights. UK airlines already face a scramble to ensure they are majority owned by EU nationals after Brexit — which could involve forcing UK investors to sell their shares to EU citizens, in order to comply with the bloc’s strict rules on control.<br/>