Chapter 4: Travelling!

The future of traveling and the significant industry that UK has built around it, has become one of the main areas of uncertainty ever since 23rd of June. It is only natural that Brexit will affect all aspects of traveling for both UK travelers and vice versa. We will highlight 4 concerning points to be decided through the negotiations. 

• The future of borderless travel
While British citizens will not need visas to travel inside the EU, what will change is the passport control, as they will queue to Non-European passports holders and probably spend more time at the airport. In the long-term, a radical disintegration with the EU-as it can happen- would end all Schengen arrangements of free border crossing and re-introduce border control.

• Higher airfares?
Airfares have been at an all-time low in the last years following EU’s removal of restrictions in agreements and advancing open competition between airlines. All of that will be re-examined, possibly leading to higher fares as well as changing routes from major British and Irish airlines easyJet and Ryanair.

• A weaker or a stronger pound in the short term?
We can already see the effects Brexit had on the pound. While there was a sharp decline following the referendum, it hasn’t been as significant as some sources were predicting prior to it (Goldman Sachs predicted 20% decline). Nevertheless, it has made travelling for British more expensive, while reducing costs for dollar or euro currency travelers. 

• An uncertain future for reciprocal health benefits?
The European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) entitles UK citizens to free or reduced-cost treatment in other EU countries. Again, this policy will be negotiated in the following years, but it seems certain that the continuation of this would require same health care access to EU citizens.

As UK will remain part of EU until at least April 2019, any changes might take a long time to come into effect, furthermore, there is nothing preventing future governments from arranging better deals for their people, assuming they can. 

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