Wizz Air plans to secure a British air operating certificate (AOC) to allow it to continue running flights to and from the UK post-Brexit.
This would enable services to be maintained even if the UK leaves the European Union without agreeing a new bilateral air services arrangement.
Jozsef Varadi, chief executive of the central and eastern European budget carrier, warned that there was a growing likelihood of a no-deal scenario.
“What we are seeing, is that it is becoming increasingly likely that there will not be an early deal [on aviation]. Uncertainty will remain the context,” he told the Financial Times.
“We need to protect interests of our consumers and of our investors.”
Varadi revealed that the Budapest-based airline was already engaged in talks with UK officials on its contingency plans and said the airline had prior experience in agreeing AOCs with non-EU countries, such as Ukraine.
He said Wizz Air would move “full steam ahead” in securing an AOC in the UK after the summer.
“The problem is we can’t keep speculating on the situation. We cannot control the situation – we just don’t know how it will play out,” he said.
His comments came as Wizz Air yesterday announced quarterly results for the three months to June, with full-year net profit projected to be at the upper end of its guided range of €250 million-€270 million.
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