The BBC's John Humphrys was discussing this report (HERE) with Paul Everett, a spokesman for the aviation industry on the Today programme this morning. It's about the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) "rebuffing" a request from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to begin talks on a joint transition plan to cover any future scenario, including a no deal exit. This is not new but the BBC have got hold of correspondence that seems to show a degree of panic on our part.
Humphrys asked if it was "conceivable" that British aircraft wouldn't be able to land at EU airports if we do not secure an aviation deal. It's as if the BBC are only now starting to realise what Brexit might mean although the EU Notice to Stakeholders on Aviation Safety setting all this out in clear terms was published on 18th April, nearly six months ago (HERE).
Mr Everett, the CEO of the aviation trade body ADS, picked his words carefully and said "legally" all our certifications lapse on March 29th next year. In other words the answer was YES. It was almost as if Humphrys didn't realise the position is so dire that our entire aviation industry is at risk. The risk may be small or not so small. Both sides would be damaged unless a deal on aviation is reached so it's probable that everything will be okay in the end. It's a theoretical risk but the consequences could be severe.
The EU have only just allowed the EASA to begin accepting applications from British based suppliers of parts and services to the EU's aviation industry. British suppliers are essentially being asked to submit requests for re-certification as third country suppliers. This would apply in the event of no deal. If we can reach a deal the EU would I assume recognise CAA issued certificates allowing British suppliers to continue providing parts and services.
This change of position was announced on the EASA website on 2nd October (HERE) and covers a whole series of organisations, all of whom will now have to spend time and money preparing to become certified as approved third country suppliers:
Production Organisation Approval - POA (EASA Form 55)
Letters of agreement for production without a POA (EASA Form 65)
Maintenance Organisation Approvals - MOA (EASA Form 3 & Form 3MF)
Maintenance Training Organisation Approvals - MTOA (EASA Form 11)
Continuing Airworthiness Maintenance Organisation - САМО approvals (EASA Form 14)
Flight Simulator Training Devices - FSTD (EASA Form 145)
Approved Training Organisations - ATO (EASA Form 143)
Aero-Medical Centres - AeMC certificates (EASA Form 146)
It's not clear how many suppliers are affected, how many will apply or what capacity the EASA has to process a lot of simultaneous applications and hence how long this will all take.
According to the BBC, a spokesman for the CAA said:
"We call upon the European Commission to allow EASA to hold discussions with us about the detailed technical arrangements that would apply in a no-deal scenario".
You can almost hear the panic in this statement. But it's another lever to help us come to the right decision so I can't see the EU giving it up anytime soon.
