Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has said he may pivot the budget airline’s growth plans away from the UK if there is no agreement to maintain access to the EU’s Open Skies arrangement post-Brexit.
Chief executive Michael O’Leary said the UK maintaining an Open Skies agreement with the EU is a top priority of Brexit and warns that a “hard Brexit” could cause “significant disruption” to UK/EU flights.
Ryanair actively campaigned for a remain vote in the UK Referendum and made the warnings in the release of its annual results.
O’Leary said: “We were disappointed by the result, and are concerned at the significant uncertainty over the terms of the UK’s departure from the EU in March 2019. For our customers, we hope the UK will remain in Open Skies which will mean no change for UK consumers and visitors. However, the UK has indicated that it does not wish to do so, and until we get clarity over the final terms of the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU, there must be significant uncertainty over flights between the UK and the EU for a period of time from March 2019 onwards.
“A “hard” Brexit could cause significant disruption to UK/EU flights for a period of months after March 2019, which is why we must remain flexible. In the absence of such certainty, or direction, we will continue to pivot our growth away from the UK in 2017 and 2018 to capitalise on the many growth opportunities elsewhere in Europe. We have contingency plans and will adapt to changed circumstances in the best interests of our customers.”
O’Leary’s statements follow warnings from Monarch chief executive Andrew Swaffield, who has said that he fears airlines could return to how it was in the 1970s as a result of Brexit, with higher fares and less choice.