RYAAY Ryanair Holdings PLC

LONDON—British discount carrier easyJet PLC said it had begun formal talks to seek a license in another European Union country to preserve traffic rights that are at risk after the U.K. voted to leave the trading bloc.

The so-called 'air operator certificate' acts as a license for airlines to fly. The airline, even ahead of the referendum, had started informal talks with other EU states about seeking such approvals.

"EasyJet has now started a formal process to acquire an AOC," it said in a statement Friday, adding it had held talks with "a number of European regulators."

EasyJet isn't alone in holding multiple air traffic licenses. Ryanair Holdings PLC, easyJet's chief rival, has indicated it may have to seek a British AOC should the U.K. remain outside the European Union single-aviation market.

Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA, another discount carrier, already holds a British and Irish certificate in addition to the one issued by its home country. British Airways parent International Consolidated Airlines Group SA, which also owns Irish carrier Aer Lingus and Spanish units Iberia and Vueling, also holds multiple AOCs.

Britain's membership within the EU has given easyJet and other U.K. carriers access to the regions' single aviation market, allowing them to serve any city-pair within the bloc. Britain's vote last month to leave the EU could see easyJet cut off from those rights, potentially jeopardizing its ability to continue flying routes such as Amsterdam to Berlin.

The airline said it had no plans to shift its headquarters away from the airport in Luton, England. EasyJet already holds two AOCs, its British one and another for Switzerland. A new license would require a very small number of administrative staff to be based in the host country, an airline official said.

The operational certificate would also designate which planes can be flown under the license, adding some complexity to running day-to-day operations and potentially increasing cost, airline analysts have said.

A week ago, just hours after the outcome of the referendum became clear, easyJet Chief Executive Carolyn McCall said she'd written to both the British government and EU urging them "to prioritize the U.K. remaining part of the single EU aviation market, given its importance to trade and consumers."

EasyJet said Friday that until the outcome of U.K.-EU talks on future air traffic rights become clearer, the airline "does not need to make any other structural or operational changes."

Write to Robert Wall at robert.wall@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 01, 2016 08:25 ET (12:25 GMT)

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