EasyJet to set up Vienna-based airline to ease Brexit pressures

EasyJet will establish a new Vienna-based airline so it can continue its European operations after Brexit as UK carriers look to minimise disruption and maintain flights within the continent from 2019. The establishment of “EasyJet Europe” will allow the low-cost airline to continue to operate flights within European countries, even if the UK and EU fail to sign a deal that preserves all the benefits of the single aviation market. EU rules state that an airline must be based in Europe in order to fly across the continent. EasyJet said on Friday that its application for an “air operating certificate” in Austria was “well advanced” and final approval was expected in the coming weeks. The move will create up to 20 administrative jobs on the continent and the airline’s staff in the EU will now work for the new company. The establishment of a base in Austria means the group will become a pan European airline, with businesses registered in Austria, the UK and Switzerland. This will allow easyJet’s UK aircraft to operate UK-EU routes and its Austrian aircraft to operate intra-EU routes, even if UK carriers are not granted access to the single aviation market. It does not solve all the airline’s Brexit troubles, however. Strict EU rules limit non-EU ownership and control of an airline to 50%, and easyJet has previously warned that it is set to exceed this threshold once its UK shareholders are no longer classed as EU nationals.<br/>