Aircraft registry has yet to reach its predicted heights
GUERNSEY’S aircraft registry, 2-Reg, is providing about £1.4m. of annual economic benefits to the States.
However, it is still well short of the ‘conservative’ estimate in a 2011 report that led members to approve the registry. At that point it was thought the register could be worth £18m. over three years.
During the States meeting earlier this month, Economic Development president Neil Inder said Policy & Resources had approved £103,000 being given to the Office of the Director of Civil Aviation, and the committee has confirmed that this will go towards the ongoing work by 2-Reg.
2-Reg was set up by the then Commerce and Employment Department to allow aircraft to be registered in Guernsey and the estimate of its benefit assumed a ‘medium take-up’ of its services and 125 aircraft being registered in total over the first three years of its operation.
Currently, 2-Reg has 272 aircraft on its books.
The approved expenditure followed the DCA not increasing its resource requirements since 2013, said Economic Development, despite the number of aircraft it deals with rising to 272 this month.
There had also been significant growth in the on/off lease airliner market, it said.
‘In this context, the request for £103,000 is very modest and covers additional flight operations and air worthiness resources contracted in by the Office of the Director of Civil Aviation to undertake the assessment of applications from 2-Reg for the licensing of aircraft.
‘This resource is necessary to ensure the Office of the Director of Civil Aviation can function adequately to meet its international obligations.’
Supporting businesses, such as legal offices and corporate service providers, have estimated that the registry is worth more than £1.4m. a year, Deputy Inder told the States.
The registry includes three key business areas – general aviation, air operator certification and the on/off lease airliner market.
It comprises the Office of the Aircraft Registrar and SGI (Guernsey) Limited.
SGI bore the set-up costs of the registry in its role of commercial partner with the States and continues to provide technical services to support the Office of the Aircraft Registrar and make recommendations to the office of the DCA for the issuing of AOCs, certificates of airworthiness and more.
The DCA’s office oversees safety of all local aviation activities, said Economic Development, including Guernsey Airport and all Guernsey-registered aircraft, from the perspective of both airworthiness and flight operations.
The DCA issues approvals and permits to allow ‘certain types of operation and is essential to the functioning of local aviation and the aircraft on the Guernsey Aircraft Registry’. Its director was this week removed from his post by the States Assembly.
