Background
Established in December 2013, “2-REG”, the Channel Islands Aircraft Registry, is the aircraft registry of the States of Guernsey. The nationality mark is ‘2’ followed by four letters, allowing for attractive registration marks.
There have been 94 registrations to date of lessor owned aircraft, corporate aircraft, including a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, and locally owned aircraft. The registry is also able to award Air Operator Certificates, and benefits from being party to the Cape Town Convention, the international aviation standard relating to aviation assets.
The Registration Process
The process for aircraft registration involves a review of corporate and aircraft due diligence. This applies to the 40 countries where financial services business regulations are considered equivalent to local Guernsey standards.
For countries not on this list, the 2-REG requires a Resident Agent in Guernsey, who must be a licensed fiduciary, to be appointed to undertake this work.
What is the Role of a Resident Agent?
The Resident Agent is required to undertake a review of due diligence (corporate and aircraft) to the standard expected by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission, and to report their findings to the registry. In addition, the Resident Agent must act as liaison between the aircraft owner and the registry and submit the registration applications.
Dixcart Trust Corporation Limited in Guernsey is a registered Resident Agent for the 2-REG Registry.
Case Study and How Temporary Registration on 2-REG Solved a Problem
The Dixcart office in Guernsey was recently approached by a Turkish commercial air cargo carrier to act as Resident Agent for a temporary registration of an Airbus A300.
The aircraft was moving from the American FAA registry to the Civil Aviation Register of Turkey. The Turkish register required a Certificate of Airworthiness (CofA) as part of its registration requirements.
The FAA, however, has shifted policy recently and is less willing to issue documents for aircraft that are not in the United States or destined to go to the United States.
The solution was to apply for a temporary registration on 2-REG allowing the appropriate airworthiness inspections to be undertaken and a CofA issued to allow onward registration in Turkey.
On receipt of properly certified due diligence relating to: the company, directors, ultimate beneficial owners and the aircraft, a full compliance review was carried out by Dixcart and this formed the basis of the report to 2-REG, in addition to the relevant registration forms being submitted.
Dixcart Guernsey and International Business Support
This type of fiduciary work it is a good example of the wider support that Dixcart in Guernsey, and other offices across the Dixcart Group, offer to corporate, private and family office clients.
It also reflects the wider business friendly and ‘can do’ environment that the Guernsey Government has fostered and which helps to support and deliver global solutions. These include the 2-REG aircraft registry, the Channel Island Securities Exchange, HNWI relocation and domicile, and highly respected fiduciary, captive insurance and fund sectors.
Additional Information
If you require any additional information on this topic, please speak to your usual Dixcart contact or to Bruce Watterson at the Dixcart office in Guernsey: advice.guernsey@dixcart.com.
