The European Union has agreed on last Friday to extend UK’s Brexit deadline until January 31 2020, sweeping away its imminent danger of no-deal departure and creating the political space for Britain’s divided parliament to decide on the timing of a general election.
27 National ambassadors from the European Union agreed on Monday that it will accept the UK’s request for a Brexit ‘flextension’ that could last to the end of January 2020. Yet it’s giving the UK the possibility to depart earlier from EU if its withdrawal agreement has been ratified.
It’s the second time that Brexit deadline has been changed since the 2016 referendum on Britain’s departure from the EU. Britain’s departure has already been delayed twice from 29 March and 12 April- after the British Prime Minister’s predecessor, Theresa May, failed three times to get the deal ratified by Parliament.
The UK is formally due to leave the EU on 31 October, Brexit is hanging in the balance with British politicians.
The Brexit deadline extension was granted by Europe after a request made by the UK government earlier this month, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has unwillingly accepted a three-month delay to the U.K.’s departure from the European Union, but the Prime Minister stressed that he’s doing it against his will and urged the EU to grant no more delays.
Johnson, who became the Prime Minister of Britain in July by pledging, “do or die”, to deliver Brexit on 31 October, was forced to request a postponement after being defeated over sequencing ratification of his divorce deal in Parliament.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has also shared positive views about the EU’s decision to extend the Brexit deadline until the end of January.
Khan also tweeted on Monday that the decision was “good news” and takes the “immediate risk of a catastrophic no-deal” Brexit off the table. The mayor said the extension should be used for a public vote on Brexit. He says, “It’s time to give the British public the final say on Brexit.”
The UK seems to have edged closer to leaving the EU on October 31, though the deadline was further extended for 3 months. It’s now worth considering what it would mean for London holidaymakers if they had to leave by the end of January?
The travel patterns from London to Europe might change from January 2020, including driving licence validity, health insurance and customs rules. Since flights are priced for political uncertainty, the British are in search of a bargain trip to most of the best European destinations to avoid the hassle to follow procedures after ‘no-deal’ Brexit.
Suggested Read: Brexit: What does it mean for all the Travellers and their Holidays?
Even if Britons leave with no deal at all, the EU has already announced their contingency plan for 12 months after Brexit to keep the skies and the airports open as part of their “no deal.” According to the recent statement on preparation for “no-deal” – The British might have to wait for hours in passport queues of other countries to get their passports stamped and possibly answer few questions about their visit, all of which would slow British holidaymakers down compared to the current situation.
The British travel rights after Brexit is set to be changed from 2021, depending on the deal (or no deal), they might need additional travel documents from the European Travel Information and Authorisation Scheme (ETIAS) to travel to Europe. The government has advised Britons with precautions to be followed before travelling to Europe with no deal – Passport of a British citizen requires to be less than ten years old and minimum six months left on it.
The British holidaymakers have to consider mainly on the price of a holiday in terms of the impact of Brexit. A weak pound means an expensive holiday in Europe, the pound has fallen from approximately 1.4 pounds to the Euro ever since the referendum was called in 2015. If a British passport holder exchanges pound at the airport just before they fly, they are likely to get a much worse rate than they expect.
The United Kingdom is now set to leave from the EU on the end of January. It’s time to use this postponement wisely to consider exactly what sort of disruption British travellers might have to suffer and what this means for trips to and from Europe if the UK leaves the EU.
