Brexit: Britain close to agreeing open skies deal with US

The US and UK are close to finalising an open skies aviation agreement, which falls short of current EU arrangements but will protect British carriers from ownership problems after Brexit. Negotiators for the two sides are meeting Wednesday in Washington for what they expect to be the final round of talks on the wide-ranging air services agreement, according to people briefed on the talks. If confirmed, the deal would provide continuity for UK and US-based carriers when Britain leaves the EU-US open skies treaty after Brexit, which underpins the busy transatlantic flight corridor. But the draft terms are inferior to the rights the UK enjoys as an EU member, with tighter restrictions on ownership, tougher terms for new entrants and no special access to the Fly America program, which allocates tickets for US govt employees. <br/>