Hard Brexit will reduce flight delays

This news comes as Britain and the European Union speculate about the terms and conditions of a future UK-EU relationship.

The International Air Transport Association (Iata) have claimed that if the UK was to pursue a hard exit from the EU,  air travel would be stifled.

They estimate that passenger numbers could drop by almost 20 million. As a result of this, the number of flight delays will reduce drastically, as airlines will have to review their operations.

The reduction in passenger numbers is substantial when you consider that they could reduce by a number larger than the entire annual traffic of London Stansted airport.

Before speculation of a hard exit from the European Union and changes to the legislation, it was estimated that the five largest airports in the South West of England would reach full operational capacity by 2030.

Due to uncertainty regarding what will happen to the aviation sector after Brexit has been negotiated, that figure has been revised to 2040.

There are a number of things that should be accounted for when considering why the number of passengers is expected to fall so drastically.

The falling pound and uncertainty surrounding what Britain's new relationship with the EU will look like, are two that are currently adding to the negative forecast.

The decision to build a third runway at Heathrow has finally been made, seven years after it was last decided to expand. If this current expansion takes place, it will increase pressure on the UK Government to ensure that passenger numbers do not take such a big hit.

There has yet to be concrete proof of a reduction in flight delays. It remains speculation, but the logic would suggest that if the report is correct and the number of passengers travelling to and from the UK drops, so will the number of flight delays.