Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the rate at which (a) the Civil Aviation Authority is issuing Article 250 permits to EU-based airlines to operate in the UK and (b) European aviation authorities are issuing permits to UK-based carriers operating in the EU.

My officials continue to work closely with the UK Civil Aviation Authority and EU Member States, to ensure permissions for UK and EU airlines are issued by both sides with minimal procedural delay. Significant progress has already been made in securing reciprocal arrangements with EU Member States whereby permission to operate non-scheduled services can be granted for a period of time, rather than for each individual operation. This should mean that air services between points in the UK and points in the EU – including urgent “go now” operations – can take place without procedural delay.