The Civil Aviation Authority has issued Ryanair with a UK Air Operator Certificate (AOC), giving it the right to operate a UK airline.
The Irish carrier applied for the AOC in December 2017, saying it would allow the company to continue operating flights from the UK after Brexit.
CEO Michael O’Leary has long spoken out against Brexit, once threatening to ground Ryanair flights after the UK left the EU to persuade British voters to ‘rethink’ their decision.
Despite calling on the UK government to publish a clear transition plan from 31 March to assure Brits that they can continue to travel to Europe for holidays and business trips, Ryanair announced in September that it will add 23 new routes from its London bases this summer.
Chief legal and regulatory officer Juliusz Komorek commented: “We welcome the Civil Aviation Authority’s decision to grant our UK-based airline, Ryanair UK, with a UK AOC, allowing Ryanair to operate UK domestic routes and UK to non-EU routes in a post-Brexit environment.
“The risk of a ‘no-deal’ Brexit in March is rising, and despite our robust post-Brexit structures, including our post-Brexit plan around European ownership, we continue to call for the UK and EU to agree a transition deal from 31 March 2019 so that any disruption to flights and British consumer summer holidays in 2019 can be avoided.”
ryanair.com