Ryanair has applied for a British air operating licence to ensure its domestic UK routes can keep flying after Brexit.
The Irish airline has repeatedly warned that flights could be grounded after March 2019 unless a new framework for aviation is agreed between Britain and the EU.
A British licence would guarantee the airline could continue to operate routes between London, Northern Irish and Scottish airports, as it could otherwise be classified as a "foreign" airline in the UK after Brexit.
Ryanair filed for a licence just before Christmas using a new UK subsidiary, after a similar move in October from the Hungarian budget airline Wizz Air, which wants to expand operations at its base in Luton.
The airline said in a statement on Tuesday: "A subsidiary company, Ryanair UK, filed an application on 21 December for an air operator"™s certificate with the Civil Aviation Authority in the UK. This may be required for Ryanair"™s three UK domestic routes in the event of a hard Brexit in March 2019."
Ryanair"™s rival, easyJet, made a similar move in the other direction last year by opening a new headquarters in Vienna for easyJet Europe, allowing it to continue operating intra-EU flights.
While ministers have insisted that negotiating a liberal arrangement for aviation after Brexit is a priority, airlines have been pessimistic over the prospects of retaining current freedoms to fly domestic routes.
Flying rights are currently governed by EU-wide deals, and the aviation sector has no natural fallback arrangement to protect them without a deal…
