Lufthansa: Brexit to hit UK airlines as EU gets tough

Lufthansa chief Carsten Spohr expects France and Germany to take a hard line against the UK aviation industry in Brexit negotiations, threatening to disrupt flight connections across Europe.

“Brexit means Brexit — our industry won’t be exempt,” said Mr Spohr. “The basic approach is for every industry to say ‘hey, let’s pretend that nothing has happened.’ That’s something the governments, and also the EU Commission, won’t go along with. You can be sure about that from what I hear,” he added.

Flights between EU nations are regulated by the Single European Sky treaty and the UK will likely need a new agreement once it leaves the bloc.