By Alexandre Cohen
On June the 23rd, 2016, news of the “leave” result of the Brexit referendum shook the West. England will leave the European Union in 2 years at the most. Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and since July 2019 the representative of this Brexit, is the one who is supposed to find an agreement with the European Union. The date of Brexit, which has already been postponed several times, finally found an ultimatum the 31 of January 2020.
England is one of the most passenger-carrying countries in the world, with Heathrow airport alone accounting for 78 million crossings in 2018. But what will be the changes for people who want to travel to England after the Brexit date? Will ticket prices change? Is it more difficult to fly to United Kingdom after Brexit etc.?
The European Parliament debated the conditions for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union in a historic vote on Wednesday 29th January.
751 representatives were present in Brussels and discussed the withdrawal agreement before giving their support to the UK-EU treaty, as was generally expected.
The groundbreaking session, which included farewell speeches and even music, marked the final stage of the ratification process before Britain’s withdrawal on 31 January at 23:00 GMT.
For one year, everything will remain the same: there will be a transitional period until 1 January 2021, during which all current agreements and rules will remain in force. You can therefore continue to travel to the United Kingdom during this transitional period, as you are used to. The current rules also apply to the carriage of pets and luggage.
7 things that will remain the same during the transitional period
1. Travel
Flights, ships and trains are operated as usual. As far as passport control is concerned, during the transitional period British citizens will continue to be allowed to queue in areas reserved for EU citizens only.
2. Driving licences and pet passports
As long as they are valid, they will continue to be accepted.
3. The European Health Insurance Card
These cards provide British citizens with state medical treatment in the event of illness or accident. They can be used in any EU country (as well as Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) and remain valid during the transitional period.
4. Living and working in the EU
Freedom of mobility will continue to apply during the transition so that British citizens can continue to live and work in the EU as they do now. The same applies to EU citizens who wish to live and work in the UK.
5. Pension
British citizens living in the EU will continue to receive their state pension and will also receive the annual increase.
6. Contributions to the EU budget
The United Kingdom will continue to pay into the EU budget during the transition. This means that existing programmes paid for with EU grants will continue to be funded.
7. Trade
Trade between the UK and the EU will continue without additional fees or controls.
How to deal with this loss in productive time when travelling to the UK?
Nobody knows exactly what the laws/regulations will be for private flights that are operating to the UK after Brexit, but Fly Aeolus will certainly be very upfront with checking these new laws/regulations.
So, whether you are a leisure traveler or a businessman/woman, your trip will be fully prepared so that you will not lose any productive time when you will fly to United Kingdom after Brexit.
Before leaving for England you can also have a look at our blog about what to see in London during Christmas time.
Would you like to travel with us? You can refer to our price calculator. We serve more than 1,600 destinations in Europe; you can contact us for information on +32 3500 90 82 or at info@flyaeolus.com.