No-deal Brexit plans not enough to avoid flight disruption – IATA Spain’s Iberia meets EU airline rules in case of no-deal Brexit

MADRID (Reuters) – The Spanish government is confident national flag carrier Iberia will be able to fly across Europe in the event of a disorderly Brexit, even though the airline is majority-owned by Britain-based Anglo-Spanish group IAG.

Britain is due to leave the European Union (EU) on March 29 but has yet to seal a withdrawal agreement, posing a potential risk to airlines that don't meet EU rules requiring European carriers to be majority-owned and operated in the bloc.

"From the public works ministry's point of view, we're convinced that Iberia is a Spanish company," a spokesman for the ministry told Reuters.

"We are also convinced that, if necessary, the company will make the necessary adjustments to make sure it complies with European regulations," he said.

Iberia carries 19 million passengers a year and is a major employer in Spain with almost 17,000 workers.

IAG, which also owns British Airways, is registered in Spain but headquartered in Britain and has shareholders from around the world. Iberia has a Spanish shareholder with just over 50 percent of voting rights via a complex ownership scheme.

"We are confident that we will comply with the EU and the UK ownership and control rules post-Brexit," IAG said, adding that IAG was a Spanish company.

The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Brussels had doubts about IAG's arguments that its individual airlines are domestically owned.

European Commission sources told Reuters that Brussels encouraged IAG and all airlines concerned to check with the national licensing authorities whether they would still meet the operating licence requirements in case of a "no deal" Brexit.

They said the Commission was in regular contact with the national authorities that review compliance.

While IAG wholly owns the economic rights of Iberia Holdings, it holds just 49.9 percent of voting rights. Garanair, wholly owned by Spain's retail giant El Corte Ingles, has the remaining 50.1 percent voting stake.

DUBAI (Reuters) – Measures to allow flights to continue between the European Union (EU) and Britain in the event of a disorderly Brexit are unlikely to be enough to avoid some disruptions and cancellations, the head of the world's leading air transport group warned on Thursday.

Britain is set to leave the EU on March 29, but with less than three months to go UK Prime Minister Theresa May has failed to gain support at home for an exit agreement, increasing the prospects of a "no-deal" break in relations.

"We are a bit worried because the first guidelines have been issued and, I think, represent a constraint on traffic," said International Air Transport Association's (IATA) Director General and Chief Executive Alexandre de Juniac.

He said the measures were based on traffic between the EU and Britain in 2018, and so did not account for planned increases in flights this year.

That would mean, in the event of "no-deal," flights would have to start being adjusted or even cancelled once traffic reached the 2018 ceiling on which the measures were based, he said.

"I hope we will be able to convince UK and European authorities to be more flexible," he told reporters in Dubai.

De Juniac also said he did not believe flights would be immediately grounded if the EU and Britain failed to reach a deal before March 29.