PARIS (Reuters) – The chief executive of Ryanair predicts problems for IAG’s ownership of UK-based airline British Airways after Britain’s transition period with the European Union ends on Dec. 31, due to European Union airline ownership rules.
“I cannot see how IAG can survive as an owner of BA in a post-Brexit environment,” Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary told an online Eurocontrol event on Monday.
He said he expected France and Germany to insist on the strict application of EU ownership rules in relation to IAG. Those rules state that airlines must be at least 50% owned by EU nationals or risk losing their operating licences.
IAG is Spanish registered company which is headquartered in Britain.
(Reporting by Laurence Frost, writing by Sarah Young, editing by David Milliken)
