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The Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) warned that British planes may be unable to fly over Ireland in the event of a Brexit no-deal. William Walsh, the CEO of International Airlines Group, which owns Aer Lingus and British Airways, responded to the warnings, adding that Brexit was “inevitable”. Speaking on BBC’s Today programme, Mr Walsh was asked about the comments from Leo Varadkar. He replied: “It wasn’t from the Irish Government, it was a comment from the Irish Taoiseach in response to a question. “I am not sure exactly what he meant but the idea that airspace will be closed for flights transiting a country, that is not going to happen, so I am not concerned.”

Brexit news: William Walsh responded to Leo Varadkar's Brexit aviation warnings

Mr Walsh dismissed Brexit warnings surrounding aviation and claimed the industry needed to be “sanguine” about it. He said: “Yes, and I think we should be sanguine about it. It’s going to happen, Brexit is inevitable. “The timing of it is clearly still the subject of some debate, in terms of the transition period. But, aviation will continue to function. “There are some issues that we need to deal with but it isn’t rocket science, we have dealt with these before.

The idea that airspace will be closed for flights transiting a country, that is not going to happen William Walsh

“I am confident that a comprehensive air transport agreement will be agreed between the UK and the EU.” Speaking last month, the Irish Taoiseach sent the UK a fierce warning about the implication to aviation if there is not a deal secured between the UK and the European Union. He said: “Mr Varadkar, said: “The situation at the moment is that the UK is part of the single European sky. “If they leave the EU they are not, and that does mean if there was a no-deal hard Brexit next March, the planes would not fly and Britain would be an island in many ways.

Chequers summit in pictures: Theresa May's big Brexit meeting Fri, July 6, 2018 The Prime Minister gathered her cabinet together ahead of a crunch Brexit showdown at her country retreat at Chequers in Buckinghamshire Play slideshow PA 1 of 14 Members of the cabinet and government officials gather at Chequers