In civil aviation, deal or no deal, the Convention on International Civil Aviation, signed in Chicago on 7 December 1944, which provides for implementation of the measures necessary to ensure the safe operation of aircraft will continue to apply in all European States.
Deal or no deal, The UK will remain a member of European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC) and EUROCONTROL. But even before REGULATION (EEC) No 3922/91 of 16 December 1991 on the harmonization of technical requirements and administrative procedures in the field of civil aviation a great deal of work was being done to harmonise of technical requirements in Europe.
Deal or no deal, the 508 million of the current EU28 want high levels of civil aviation safety and common technical requirements in Europe. Simply put the public demand will continue to be to strives to improve safety and protect the environment. European skies see over 10 million flights a year and that’s growing.
Frankly, to do any different would be a grave dereliction of duty. Each European country is unique. However, it doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from, if you are a passenger on an international flight you expect the same level of safety as everyone else. Competition can drive improvements in industry but no one sensible or sane competes on safety grounds.
So, talk of “no deal” isn’t of any usefulness because there will always be a deal of some kind.
Tomorrow Ministers are set to publish the “no deal” Brexit plans that have been worked-up. Whether this is healthy or unhealthy isn’t so much about what they contain as the state of mind that produced them in the first place. The irrational beliefs at the heart of Brexit have little to do with practical reality. The honest practical reality is that there will be deals.
John Vincent 