European airlines want ‘to screw us over’ says O’Leary
Ryanair claims European airlines including Air France and Lufthansa are lobbying against UK carriers being given access to the EU aviation market post-Brexit.
Boss Michael O’Leary warned they were actively campaigning against an EU deal with the UK to prevent the likes of easyJet and British Airways being able to offer flights within the continent from 2019.
A position paper signed by Air France, KLM, Lufthansa and other European airlines in May said there should be no access to the internal aviation market without ‘full regulatory convergence’ including ‘recognition of the competence’ of the European Court of Justice.
According to The Times, the position paper states that the UK government would be likely to reject such a deal, which would mean that the British government and the EU would have to negotiate a new bilateral agreement to ensure that flights could continue to operate between the UK and the EU.
O’Leary said that if such a deal hasn’t been reached by October 2018 to ensure flights can be scheduled from spring of 2019, post-Brexit, transport secretary Chris Grayling will be dealing with a crisis.
Addressing a press conference, he said: "This is the challenge for Grayling and the rest of the British government. You’re not dealing with a level playing field here.
"The idea that the Europeans want to do a deal with Britain to protect Spanish hoteliers is nonsense. They want to screw you over because it’s in Air France, Lufthansa’s interests to ground British airlines."
Air France told The Times: "We are not lobbying against a deal but are making our position known to ensure a fair situation will prevail."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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