Fantasy world meets reality of a UK industry deeply embedded in EU economy. / Bombardier has put its Belfast plant up for sale, in the process putting a question mark against the 3,600 jobs in the North’s largest private-sector employer.

Bombardier and Cobham are among more than 200 UK aerospace manufacturers which have applied to come under the jurisdiction of regulators in other EU countries in preparation for a possible hard Brexit. Aircraft parts from the UK can currently be used across the EU if the country’s aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), has approved them.