Flights will continue if the UK leaves the EU with No Deal as government proves fear mongers wrong
BRITS who have booked flights after Brexit will still be able to fly - even in the event of No Deal - the government confirmed today .
Defying doom-mongers who thought planes could be grounded after Brexit, the Department for Transport (DfT) said the UK will protect airlines' flying rights if the country leaves without a deal on March 29.
Aviation Minister Baroness Sugg : "Measures put forward by the UK and the EU will ensure that flights can continue in any scenario; deal or no deal."
The DfT said the government was still working to secure a deal with Brussels, but that as part of its preparations for a possible No Deal, it had agreed to match EU airline plans.
The EU has proposed allowing British airlines to fly to and from EU airports for 12 months after March 29, assuming Britain offered the same rights to EU airlines.
Ministers including Philip Hammond had sparked fears that planes could be grounded if we left the EU without a deal by saying it was "theoretically possible" everything would grind to a halt.
This was reiterated by EU Commission President Jean Claude Juncker who claimed planes would "not be able to land".
Yet earlier this year, The Sun debunked Brexit scare stories by revealing secret agreements between the UK and the EU to make sure transport links with Britain remained unaffected.
And ministers had repeatedly insisted we would come to an agreement with the EU so that planes wouldn't be grounded at all.
Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive of ABTA praised the good news about flights being continued after March 29.
He said: "Today’s announcement provides further assurance that, whatever the outcome of Brexit, travellers can continue to book holidays and business trips with confidence.
"Europe is the most popular holiday destination for UK travellers with 58 million trips made to the continent each year.
"It’s worth remembering that if the UK and the EU agree a deal, we will be in a transition period and everything will stay the same for travel until the end of 2020 - meaning people can continue to travel to the EU exactly as they do now."
Most read in travel
Which? have advised travellers with less than 15 months left on their passport to renew it today, as from tomorrow, there are just three weeks to go until Brexit day.
A loophole means that Brits need extra time on their passport in order to ensure that they aren't barred from entry.
Brits will also still be able to travel without a visa to the EU after Brexit, EU leaders confirmed earlier this year.