Ryanair to suspend UK flight if no UK-EU aviation deal is in place

There is a "very distinct possibility" that Ryanair will have to suspend flights from the United Kingdom for "weeks or months" if the UK and European Union can't make a bilateral international aviation deal well ahead of the Brexit taking effect, Ryanair CEO Neil Sorahan told the Guardian.

Ryanair is a Dublin based company. It is legally allowed to operate out of any EU country under a Europe-wide "open skies" regulation, which allows all EUL airlines and airlines in Morocco, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland to fly in an out of any country part of the regulation. If the UK is no longer part of the regulation after the Brexit, Ryanair may not be able to fly from the UK any longer. 

"If there was a cliff-edge scenario with World Trade Organization rules and no bilateral open skies in place, there is a distinct possibility that there will be no flights for a period of time between Europe and the UK", Sorahan said. "The impact on business would be disastrous."

Ryanair is a budget airline that started flying from Schiphol airport in October 2015. The airline also has ambitions to fly from Lelystad Airport, once the airport starts taking over some of the Schiphol traffic.