U.S., Britain strike deal to preserve air service after Brexit

Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
A British Airways Airbus A380, which departed London Heathrow, is given a water salute by Chicago Fire Department firetrucks after the plane landed on runway 28C at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on May 4, 2018. This was the inaugural landing of an A380 for a regularly scheduled flight at O'Hare.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
A British Airways Airbus A380, foreground right, taxis after landing on runway 28C at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on May 4, 2018. This was the inaugural landing of an A380 for a regularly scheduled flight at O'Hare.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
A British Airways Airbus A380, which departed London Heathrow, taxis after landing on runway 28C at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on May 4, 2018. This was the inaugural landing of an A380 for a regularly scheduled flight at O'Hare.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
A British Airways Airbus A380, which departed London Heathrow, lands on runway 28C at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on May 4, 2018. This was the inaugural landing of an A380 for a regularly scheduled flight at O'Hare.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
A British Airways Airbus A380, which departed London Heathrow, lands on runway 28C at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on May 4, 2018. This was the inaugural landing of an A380 for a regularly scheduled flight at O'Hare.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
A British Airways Airbus A380, which departed London Heathrow, approaches runway 28C at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago before landing on May 4, 2018. This was the inaugural landing of an A380 for a regularly scheduled flight at O'Hare.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
A British Airways Airbus A380, which departed London Heathrow, lands on runway 28C at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on May 4, 2018. This was the inaugural landing of an A380 for a regularly scheduled flight at O'Hare.
Chris Sweda / Chicago Tribune
A British Airways Airbus A380, which departed London Heathrow, taxis after landing on runway 28C at O'Hare International Airport in Chicago on May 4, 2018. This was the inaugural landing of an A380 for a regularly scheduled flight at O'Hare.

PUBLISHED: November 29, 2018 at 11:15 a.m. | UPDATED: December 12, 2018 at 7:51 a.m.

The United States and United Kingdom have reached an agreement to maintain air service between the two countries after Brexit.

U.K. Transport Secretary Chris Grayling confirmed the so-called open-skies agreement on Wednesday.

The deal will maintain the same access to the U.S. that planes flying from the U.K. enjoy under the current U.S.-Europe air treaty. The U.K. will no longer be under that U.S.-Europe treaty after it leaves the European Union.

Airlines for America, a trade group representing most big U.S. airlines, is praising the agreement, saying it will ensure the continuation of key transatlantic routes.

Flights between the two countries carry about 20 million passengers a year, accounting for nearly one-third of all air travel between the U.S. and Europe.

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