UK air passengers could drop by 40% without Brexit aviation deal - report

Airports in the UK could see passenger numbers down by as much as 40% if there is no aviation deal agreed ahead of Brexit, Reuters has reported.

According to an industry report seen by the news agency, leading experts have warned that there may be no guarantee of future access to the EU’s single aviation market.

If no such agreement is reached by the end of 2018, many air passengers will avoid booking flights due to uncertainty over flight statuses, the report said.

The industry report said the figure of decreased passengers could hit 41% in the worst case scenario.

"The risk of no deal creates uncertainty for the industry," it said. "Although an 11th hour deal may prevent planes from being grounded, damage to the aviation industry and the wider economy would have already been done."

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary has been a consistent opponent to Brexit and any additional regulations which may arise in the airline industry as a result.

The Open Skies agreement currently allows EU airlines to operate in each other’s countries, but O’Leary said last month it would be difficult to replicate such a deal and may even lead to a large scale breakdown of flights between the UK and the EU.

"There is a real prospect, and we need to deal with this, that there are going to be no flights between the UK and Europe for a period of weeks, months beyond March 2019," O’ Leary said.

"There is not going to be an interim agreement, there is not going to be a legal basis, we will be cancelling flights, we will be cancelling people’s holidays for summer of 2019."