The warning comes after prime minister Theresa May signed the letter that will trigger Brexit, which is to be delivered to the EU today (March 29), signalling formal notice of the UK’s departure from the EU.

In a plea to the government Ryanair urged it to provide a “coherent post-Brexit plan”.

“With the UK set to leave Europe’s Open Skies system, the UK government will either have to negotiate a bilateral agreement with the EU to allow flights to/from Europe to continue, or else revert to historical WTO [World Trade Organization] rules, which do not cover aviation, thereby raising the distinct possibility of no flights between Europe and the UK for a period from March 2019 in the absence of a bilateral deal”, it said.
 
The airline added that it had already “pivoted growth away from the UK to other EU airports, basing no additional aircraft at its 19 UK airports in 2017 and cutting its growth rate from 15% to just 6% this year”.
 
Ryanair warned that there were “just 12 months to go until possible schedule cuts are made, as summer 2019 schedules must be released in March 2018”, and said the UK government must “immediately outline a strategy to maintain low fare air travel between the UK and the EU from March 2019”.

Ryanair’s Kenny Jacobs added: “Some nine months on from the Brexit referendum, we are no closer to knowing what effect it will have on aviation. It’s become worrying that the UK government seems to have no plan B to maintain Britain’s liberalised air links with Europe, in the absence of remaining in the Open Skies regime.
 
“With Britain planning to leave the EU and its Open Skies agreement, there is a distinct possibility that there may be no flights between the UK and Europe for a period of time after March 2019. The best we can hope for is a new bilateral agreement between the UK and EU, however, we worry that Britain may not be able to negotiate such a bilateral in time for the release by airlines of summer 2019 schedules in mid-2018.”
 
“Ryanair, like all airlines, plans its flights 12 months in advance, so there are just 12 months to go until we finalise our summer 2019 schedule, which could see deep cuts to our flights both to, from and within the UK from March 2019 onwards. The UK government must respond to the airlines and our customers, and put aviation at the top of its agenda when it negotiates its Brexit deal with Brussels. Britain’s airlines, airports and holidaymakers need a real and early solution for aviation, or risk Britain being cut off from Europe in March 2019."