Majority Of Association's Members Have International Interests

Negotiations for aviation must be considered as a priority in the first wave of discussions with the EU, now that the United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union.

That is the assessment of British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) CEO Marc Bailey (pictured). “We have developed legislation alongside EASA that supports our sector," Bailey said in a news release. "It is therefore vital for BBGA that we retain EU legislation for aviation and develop the requirements in a way which are proportionate and risk based for our sector.

The majority of BBGA’s 140-strong member companies have international interests.  Pilots, crews, pilots and other staff are typically multi-national in our industry and naturally highly mobile so UK aviation businesses need multi-lingual employees, many of whom are sourced from the EU.

“It is important for us to obtain a clear picture before year end to prevent any unnecessary movement of aircraft, assets, or companies to an alternate location,” he said.  Accordingly, this week BBGA will be formally writing to the DfT and UK Government Ministers this week, urging that British aviation interests must be safeguarded.

Members of the BBGA embrace a wide ranging membership of British businesses active in aircraft operations, aviation services, and the essential services that facilitate those activities.  Over its 35 year history, BBGA (and predecessor Gamta) has observed and participated in the development of the single aviation market within the EU as applicable to non-scheduled air transport into a coherent, safe, efficient and well-regulated system. BBGA understands fully the dangers that a return to a UK national aviation market would bring and it would therefore resist this.

“We recognize the vital importance of continued access to the European Single Aviation Market as a major part of the business and commercial aviation industry in connecting UK business and leisure interests with other European Countries,”  Marc Bailey stated.
 
For both safety and access reasons the viability of the British aviation industry, which is the third largest in the world, is hugely reliant upon the continuation of active British participation and the further positive development of existing trans-national organizational and regulatory structures.

(Image provided with BBGA news release)

FMI: www.bbga.aero