UK and US regulators have agreed a new bilateral deal which provides for current safety regulation between the two countries to be kept in place in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority says the agreement – signed with the UK Department for Transportation and the US Federal Aviation Administration – is intended to ensure that co-operation between the two countries will "remain the same", even if a no-deal Brexit means that the UK is no longer able to remain a member of the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).
There would be "no change" to maintenance oversight, with the UK and USA committed to mutual recognition of approvals, says the CAA.
Products, parts and appliances manufactured by UK and US companies will continue to be accepted in both countries. The CAA will permit the operation by UK companies of aircraft designed in the USA and previously validated by EASA.
Design-validation processes will be "similar" to those implemented under the EU-US bilateral air services agreement, says the UK regulator. The exception is that an application will need to be made to the CAA for FAA validation of designs produced in the UK.
The CAA says the new agreement – which is part of its no-deal contingency planning – gives assurances to airlines and aerospace companies in both countries that transatlantic trade would in a no-deal scenario continue "with minimal change" to the current oversight regime.
Similar bilateral safety arrangements with aviation authorities in Canada and Brazil are being finalised, it adds.
Source: Cirium Dashboard