Following the country’s exit from the EU on 31 January, the UK will enter a transition period until 31 December 2020, while the future UK-EU relationship on aviation is determined. During the transition period, EU law will continue to apply and the UK and its aviation sector will continue to participate in the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) system.
The EU (Withdrawal) Act 2018 converts existing EU law into UK law, and preserves existing UK laws that implement EU obligations. The Government has implemented associated secondary legislation to ensure an effectively functioning statute book, with the CAA's legal and policy support.
If no UK-EU aviation safety agreements are in place at the end of transition period, the CAA assume that the UK will withdraw completely from the EASA system on 1 January 2021, meaning that the CAA will need to fulfil regulatory functions without having EASA as a technical agent and without having access to EASA and EU-level capabilities.