Wizz Air boss accelerates contingencies for Brexit

Wizz Air is accelerating contingency planning for Brexit as the group warned of the risks of Britain crashing out of the EU. Jozsef Varadi, CE, remains committed to increasing the carrier’s capacity on UK-European flights despite the regulatory challenges that might be thrown up by a failure to reach agreement on regulation and other areas. “What we are seeing, is that it is becoming increasingly likely that there will not be an early deal [on aviation]. Uncertainty will remain the context,” he said. “We need to protect interests of our consumers and of our investors.” Varadi said Wizz Air would proceed with plans to secure a British air operating certificate, AOC, to allow it to continue operating flights to and from Britain, even if the country leaves the EU without agreeing a new bilateral arrangement. But he warned that there was a growing likelihood of a no-deal scenario. Airlines are grappling with a range of regulatory puzzles in the wake of Britain’s decision to exit the EU. These include agreeing a new legal basis for British airlines to operate flights between EU countries and ownership rules requiring airlines operating in the region to be majority controlled by entities in the bloc. Ryanair has even warned it will have to halt flights from the UK for “weeks or months” if London is unable to secure quickly an international deal with Brussels securing “open skies” for aviation.<br/>