The UK’s exit from the EU will have “consequences” in the aviation sector that would require the U.S. FAA and UK “to work collaboratively to manage,” FAA Administrator Michael Huerta said late last week at The Aviation Club of the UK in London. “Upon exit from the EU, the UK will no longer have status under the U.S.-EU Safety Agreement.”

This is important because, with few exceptions, UK aviation products are currently certified by EASA, while service providers—including MROs—are approved via EU regulations and EASA procedures. “If the UK does not maintain an associated or working arrangement with EASA upon exit from the EU, the UK will need to quickly re-establish competencies in specific areas, especially around the certification of new aviation products,” Huerta noted.

“Additionally, the U.S.-UK Bilateral Aviation Safety Agreement, now largely dormant, may need to be updated and put into place upon the UK’s exit from the EU,” he added. “This is manageable, but it will take time and depend on the clarity of the UK’s relationship with EASA going forward.”

Huerta said that the FAA is already engaged in technical discussions with the UK Department of Transport and the Civil Aviation Authority about specific steps that must be taken under various scenarios related to the UK’s post-exit status with EASA and Single European Sky.

“I am confident that regulators on both sides of the Pond are committed to ‘minding the gap’ and ensuring uninterrupted, seamless safety oversight and certification of products and services, as well as continuous collaboration on air traffic modernization,” Huerta concluded.