UK aviation firms scramble to avoid red tape of 'hard Brexit'

European regulators are handling bids from hundreds of British aviation firms for permits allowing them to keep doing business with continental airlines in the event of a disorderly exit from the EU. The head of EASA said it was allowing British repair shops and other firms to make advance applications and avoid a stampede for certification in case Britain leaves the EU without a transition deal. The pre-emptive move is the latest evidence of contingency planning for a "no-deal" Brexit in one of several sectors seen as most at risk from an unmanaged separation. "We are preparing for the worst," EASA executive director Patrick Ky said. "There are around 900 British companies providing services to European (aviation) companies and of these there are maybe 600 which...must receive EASA approval," Ky said. <br/>