The airline industry and political remoaners have repeated stated that Brussels might ban British planes from flying to the EU post Brexit,  accompanied by much wringing of hands at this threat.

If this is intended as a threat, it’s a pretty weak one – bring it on! If Europe doesn’t  accept UK planes because they no longer have EU certification (just like a plane from the US!) , then the UK should do the same with theirs. It would be a rather odd stance, based on the notion that UK planes are safe today, but tomorrow they would seemingly threaten carnage as aircraft plummet onto French cities.

In this game of poker, the UK has got a pretty strong hand.

For example, British visitors dominate tourist statistics to Spain; twice as many as the next largest group, Germans. In Tenerife, 80% of their tourists – 3.2 million in 2016 – arrive from the UK. In this war,  the Spanish would lose out big time, and they may as well shut Tenerife South airport.

On the mainland, the busiest route (for example) into Barcelona’s airport is – you guessed it – to the UK. Long live the stag party.

Meanwhile, the Turks, Tunisians, Jordanians and Israelis would no doubt be very happy to accommodate  additional millions of money spending Brits; one sunny beach is much like another.

Brexit negotiators need a bit more spine and aggression. They talk of ‘our European friends’, but but that doesn’t tie with the language of Michel Barnier, the EU’s  chief hatchet man.

It would be a test for Mariano Rajoy, Prime Minister of Spain, as to where his interests might lie.Would these be with the collective will of the 27 to punish the UK, or to to contemplate the huge blow to the Spanish  economy in freezing the Brits out ? He may well choose to have a word in Barnier’s ear if this irrational, foot shooting, idea takes off, so to speak.

Meanwhile, if it’s floated to the UK negotiator David Davis, he should fold his arms, call Barnier’s  bluff, sit back, and say “Bring it on”.