Changes to Guernsey's 2-Reg Aircraft Registry

The Guernsey Aircraft Registry has announced the reduction in fees for general aviation and aircraft below 2,700kg based in Guernsey.

The fee for pilot licence validations has been reduced from £160 to £50 and the annual fee for an aircraft survey in Guernsey has been reduced to a flat fee of £300.

‘While 2-Reg continues to enjoy significant success in the larger transitional aircraft market, we recognise the importance of a buoyant and productive general aviation sector at home,’ said aircraft registrar Matt Bisson.

‘These fee reductions, facilitated by the director of civil aviation and SGIG, our technical partners in the aircraft registry, in consultation with the local general aviation community, is a great step forward in the support provided by 2-Reg.’

Two key objectives for 2-Reg are for it to operate at zero cost to the States as a minimum, which has been achieved, and to facilitate income for the aviation sector, and ultimately the wider Guernsey economy.

John Nicholas, the island’s director of civil aviation, said that he was looking forward to further developing requirements and guidance materials.

‘Following discussions held with the general aviation community, I am delighted to confirm new fees are in place,’ he said.

‘These reduce the costs in various areas and provide more proportionate fees to light aircraft owners in the Channel Islands.’

The registry, founded in 2013, had one of its targets to boost local aviation, but the business model changed rapidly and it became popular for churning registrations of larger aircraft operating inter­nati­onally.

A study from the island’s Aviation Working Group, composed of stakeholders from the legal, trust, fiduciary and aviation services firms, in 2019 estimated the incremental, secondary income attributable to the aircraft registry was some £1.4m.

2-Reg currently has 270 aircraft on the register with a consistently high number of monthly transactions, so it is expected that the economic impact will have increased since that study.

The Bachmann Group corporately owns some of the largest aircraft on the Guernsey 2-Reg aircraft registry, including its largest aircraft a Boeing 787 Business Jet.

For more information on Bachmann's services, contact nick.saul@bachmanngroup.com