EasyJet has applied for a new air operator certificate in Austria to allow it to continue flying in the European Union after Brexit.
The move will allow it to establish a new airline, easyJet Europe, which will be headquartered in Vienna.
It means it will be able to operate flights across Europe and domestically within European countries after the UK has left the EU, regardless of what aviation agreement is agreed.
"The accreditation process is now well advanced and easyJet hopes to receive the AOC and licence in the near future," it said in a statement.
But the airline said it would ‘continue to push for the UK and EU to reach an aviation agreement which, at a minimum, will enable flights between the UK and EU’.
It is believed Malta and Portugal were also under consideration as possible new European bases.
Airlines have voiced their concerns about the need to act quickly to negotiate a new bilateral flights agreement with the EU.
Ryanair has warned that the UK might be left without any flights to and from Europe for a period from March 2019 unless Brexit negotiators come up with a deal.
It says with airlines planning their schedules a year in advance, they need to know by the middle of next year where they will be able to fly from March 2019.
