The Spanish government has welcomed a temporary EU deal to help soften the impact on airlines should the UK exit the European Union without a deal.
“We have obtained seven months to avoid any problem,” Spanish Industry Minister Reyes Maroto said. “We have more time for the company to decide which changes it opts for.”
Spain’s national airline Iberia is owned by mostly owned by a British company called the Spanish Group IAG.
When speaking about the temporary deal Moroto was referring to the fact that Iberia can continue to offer flights for a further seven months after Brexit under the same conditions that it currently has with the EU.
As it stands, airlines that are not majority owned by a company within the EU could lose the right to fly to EU airports.
With Brexit scheduled for March 29th, there was no deal in place for Iberia to sort out its ownership details.
“This is solved, we have been given a moratorium of seven months in the regulation that will be approved, and we are working with the company to find a definitive solution,” Maroto told reporters.
The temporary agreement that the Spanish minister is referring to still needs to be approved by other EU member states.
Iberia employs around 17,000 workers in Spain and carries 19 million passengers per year. Currently Iberia flies to Malaga from many UK airports including Manchester, Birmingham and London.
IAG also owns British Airways and despite being registered in Spain has its headquarters in the UK.
