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Comment: Let’s unwrap Brexit clarity

The worst fears of all in travel were confirmed at the weekend by The Sunday Times’ front-page headline: “No deal warning: don’t go on holiday after March 29.” The report risked blowing two-and-a-half-years of attempts to reassure consumers they can book post-Brexit holidays with confidence – and it came from a government leak.

It shouldn’t be a surprise that worst-case scenarios in the event of no-deal are being considered. But leaking scare stories of potential “chaos at airports”, advice to consumers not to book, and the inevitable impact that would have on the trade, serves merely to drag the industry into the pantomime that Brexit has become.

Transport secretary Chris Grayling wrote to “reassure” the industry, noting “the UK and EU have made clear their desire to ensure flights continue”, but that was hardly the rebuttal required. Downing Street insisted the report was “categorically untrue”, but few will be convinced by that either.

Fortunately, industry leaders with important contacts not just in Westminster but in Brussels have risen above it all. EasyJet, Tui, BA-owner IAG, Abta, Clia and others insist they have confidence beyond March next year.

As Travel Weekly has previously reported, EU officials have acknowledged that laws that ground air traffic would not be “blindly enforced” in the event of no-deal, with “parachute” arrangements likely to be introduced.

We can’t rule out no-deal, and like every industry it is prudent for travel to plan for the worst-case. But the absence of support for such an outcome in Parliament makes it less likely than several alternatives.

Having taken its turn as a political football this week, let’s hope the travel industry has some clarity in January.

Comment from Travel Weekly December 20 edition

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