US/UK: FAA chief urges increased cooperation with UK ahead of Brexit

FAA acting administrator Dan Elwell has called on the UK and world governments to accelerate the pace of bilateral aviation negotiations ahead of Brexit, when the UK leaves the EU, in March 2019. “Brexit and its March 2019 deadline is obviously on all of our minds,” Elwell said. “As the clock runs down, removing uncertainty about the UK and its aviation agreements with the rest of the world only becomes more important.” “Brexit is going to affect passengers, businesses and the entire global supply chain, but early planning can help mitigate those impacts,” he added. “It’s in everyone’s best interest to reach a decision on the aviation components of Brexit as soon as possible.” Elwell also hailed a recent amendment to the US-EU Safety Agreement that makes it easier for both sides to validate and import each other’s aircraft and aviation parts. The amended agreement, which sets a framework toward lowering validation fees for manufacturers, will help get products to market faster by “reducing the involvement of validating authorities on both sides of the Atlantic.”<br/>