Irish flights to UK ‘could be grounded’

FLIGHTS between Ireland and the United Kingdom could be grounded if there is no Brexit deal, the head of Ireland’s aviation authority has warned.

Michael McGrail, the chair of the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), said that if the UK crashes out of the EU next March there would be a practical danger that flights to the UK would come to a halt.

In his evidence to Ireland’s transport, tourism and sport committee, Mr McGrail spoke of the challenges the aviation industry faces in the wake of a hard Brexit saying the implications would start from midnight on March 29, the date the UK leaves the EU.

The new head of IAA, who took up his role earlier this month, told Irish politicians that the Department of Transport is carrying out a number of scenarios to ensure “minimal negative consequences”.

“Given the apparent impasse between the UK and the EU, a satisfactory withdrawal agreement, transition period and then future relationship is in doubt,” he said.

He was further probed about the practical implications for the public and whether a no-deal Brexit would result in flights coming to an abrupt end.

“If there is a hard Brexit, then the UK becomes a third country and therefore both the air traffic management and air safety regulations that currently govern, not only the UK but the rest of Europe, would fall away,” he said. PRAGUE’S 608-year-old astronomical clock is returning to the Czech capital’s picturesque Old Town Square after a complex nine-month repair operation restored the medieval landmark to its former glory.