“Brexit to Negatively Impact Air Transport Business” – IATA

The International Air Transport Association, IATA, has expressed concerns over the financial and economic impact Britain’s exit from the European Union would have on the air transport industry.

The global Air association, in its preliminary analysis of the Brexit decision,  stated that as leaders in the UK and the EU work to establish a new framework for their relationship, one certainty to guide them is the need and desire of people on both sides of that relationship to travel and trade.

IATA, which noted that air transport plays a major role in making that possible, added that there were 117 million air passenger journeys between the United Kingdom and the European Union in 2015.

Director General and Chief Executive Officer of IATA, Tony Tyler said: “Air links facilitate business, support jobs and build prosperity. It is critical that whatever form the new UK-EU relationship takes, it must continue to ensure the common interests of safe, secure, efficient and sustainable air connectivity.”

According to the body, as the UK has voted to leave the EU, “considerable uncertainty remains regarding the precise detail of the exit and it could be two years or more before these issues are fully resolved. Prolonged uncertainty will influence both the magnitude and persistence of the economic impacts.”

It further said the preliminary estimates suggested that the number of UK air passengers could be three to five per cent lower by 2020, driven by the expected downturn in economic activity and the fall in the sterling exchange rate.