EU Ponders Termination of Brexit Agreement – What Would This Mean for Aviation?

Bloomberg has reported that the EU is considering terminating the EU-UK Trade Agreement instituted to manage trade following Brexit. This could have a tremendous affect on aviation, because that agreement currently permits the EU aviation community to use aircraft parts produced in the UK.

The Trade Agreement between the UK and EU details the scope of cooperation between the UK and EU in aviation safety. One important element is found in the AVSAF-1 (aviation safety) Annex which provides that the EU will recognize UK production approvals and accept UK CAA Form 1 on new production parts. Without this provision from the trade agreement, EU installers might be unable to receive and install an aircraft part that was produced in the UK.

This creates unnecessary confusion in the aviation world, because certain previously-acceptable tags could become unacceptable. For example, a party installing a part on an aircraft registered in the EU might be unable to install – and might be unable to even receive – a new-and-otherwise-airworthy aircraft part that had been produced and documented in the United Kingdom.

There is no timetable for rejection, and it seems unclear whether this even a reasonable path, but the aviation industry needs to remain aware of this possibility and needs to plan how it will support airworthiness in the face of such technical differences.