Britain ‘close’ to landing deal with US on post-Brexit flights

BRITAIN is set to seal an “open skies” agreement with America this summer that will keep planes flying between both countries after Brexit, The Sunday Telegraph can reveal.

Four sources in London and Washington briefed on the talks have said a deal is “close” after consensus was reached on the biggest issues up for debate. UK and US negotiators have agreed that major transatlantic airlines must be covered despite them being foreign owned – a break with the normal rules.

That means flights from Virgin, Norwegian Air and British Airways owner IAG – all majority-owned outside of the UK and US – will continue after Brexit.

Britain has also offered in principle to include its overseas territories in the agreement, something not covered by the current EU-US open skies deal.

A fresh round of talks will take place next month with officials and wellplaced industry sources increasingly confident an agreement is within reach. “We could get a deal right now if we wanted to. We could sign on the dotted line,” said one UK Cabinet source, adding that Britain was mainly holding on for extra concessions.

An agreement, which negotiators believe can be announced before the March 2019 Brexit date even if not implemented, would be a major victory for Theresa May. It would likely be held up as proof that some of the complexities of leaving the European Union can be resolved, despite the Cabinet being locked in splits over customs arrangements. It would also provide evidence that Donald Trump will make good on his pledge to help Britain as it leaves the EU.

Open skies agreements effectively allow the free market to set the price and number of flights countries, rather than ments of those nations.

Britain will leave the EU-US open skies deal the day after Brexit, meaning flights between America and the UK would be grounded unless an agreement is reached.

Some issues remain. British negotiators are seeking more comprehensive protections for new airlines to enter the market and boost competition.

They are concerned that the US airline industry’s labour unions are lobbying to make it harder for potential rivals to get financing from international capital markets.

Separately, Britain also needs to negotiate an “open skies” deal with the EU, which is critical for US airlines as half of all Americans who fly to the UK travel on to the Continent. Talks with Brussels have yet to progress on such a deal given the impasse on wider Brexit issues such as customs arrangements and what happens on the Irish border.

A US State Department official said: “Nothing has been finalised.”

‘We could get a deal right now if we wanted one. We could sign on the dotted line’