Ryanair stated that it has been forced to cancel 12 UK domestic and international routes due to the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s (CAA) “sudden change of policy on Sunday, 20 Dec that results in unjustified restrictions and makes the operation of these routes impossible”.
Ryanair UK was set up in reaction to Brexit so the carrier could retain its UK traffic rights after the UK split from the EU.
A spokesperson for Ryanair said: “ Ryanair UK had agreed Brexit contingency arrangements with the CAA two years ago and cannot comply with its new and impractical requirements at 10 days’ notice. We call on the CAA’s David Kendrick and his management colleagues to respect this long-standing agreement and the CAA’s own established policy in order to facilitate the return of these routes as soon as possible.”
The new regulations Ryanair is referring to is assumed to involve restrictions on wet leasing aircraft from foreign entities.
In response to Ryanair's recent press release, Paul Smith at the UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “It is incorrect for the airline to state that the UK Civil Aviation Authority has changed its wet-leasing policy at short notice. It has been our long-standing position that a UK airline with a significant presence in the UK, such as Ryanair UK does, should not rely heavily on using wet-leased, foreign-registered aircraft to undertake their operations. Doing so undermines the competitiveness of the UK aviation industry and the effectiveness of the regulatory regime. This is a view shared by regulators around the world and has nothing to do with our preparations for the end of the transition period, which we have planned for extensively.”
"The decision to cancel these flights was taken by Ryanair alone. We will continue to engage with the airline on these matter as we seek to act in the best interest of consumers,” he added.
The CAA highlights the fact that Ryanair has chosen to create a UK subsidiary to benefit from UK air traffic rights, including flying between domestic destinations in the UK. And that Ryanair UK currently has only one aircraft listed on the UK's register, with a fleet of over 470 aircraft.