ICAO 10142 PDF

FOREWORD

This first edition of the Manual on Registration and Deregistration of Aircraft has been prepared with the objective of providing States, operators, aircraft owners and other stakeholders with guidance concerning the registration, deregistration and transfer of aircraft from one State to another in accordance with the provisions of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) and Annex 7 — Aircraft Nationality and Registration Marks.

The Manual on Registration and Deregistration of Aircraft provides the most common aircraft registration and deregistration processes. The manual also contains the material on the aircraft registration that was previously located in the fourth edition of the Airworthiness Manual (Doc 9760). While the aspiration of this manual is for all States to have similar processes, it is also recognized that the registration or transfer of registration of aircraft in any Contracting State is made in accordance with its laws and regulations as per Article 19 of the Chicago Convention. Therefore, it is important to consult national requirements prior to registering, transferring or deregistering an aircraft since those requirements may be different from the processes described in this manual.

This manual also provides guidance on the application of the Convention on the International Recognition of Rights in Aircraft, the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment and the Protocol to the Convention on International Interests in Mobile Equipment on Matters specific to Aircraft Equipment for registering and deregistering purposes, for States that are parties to these international treaties and have made a declaration, pursuant to Article XXX(1) of the Protocol, that they apply Article XIII of the Protocol.

The registration of aircraft is an important element of a State safety oversight system. It defines various requirements that apply to that aircraft, including the continuing airworthiness, licensing, certification and other requirements. It enables the State to exercise the continued safety oversight of the aircraft. It is important to outline that the aircraft registration process remains distinct from the airworthiness processes, even though they may be closely related and, in some States, may occur concurrently.

Due to changes to the nature and structure of the air transport sector, transfers of aircraft have increased over the last three decades. Aircraft operators increasingly lease (rather than own) aircraft for various periods of time. According to different studies, the aircraft leasing market will continue to grow. As a result, aircraft will most likely be transferred from one operator to another and consequently be deregistered and registered in different States during their useful lives. The increase in the number of cross-border transfers of aircraft globally, along with differences in States’ regulations, requirements and practices has highlighted certain inefficiencies in a global system that was developed when leasing arrangements were not common.

At the 39th Session of the ICAO Assembly, held from 27 September to 7 October 2016 in Montréal, it was recommended that ICAO form an expert group to undertake a structured and independent review of all ICAO provisions, various processes and practices established by States in order to identify issues diminishing the effectiveness and efficiency of the registration, deregistration and transfer of aircraft.

This manual is one of the outcomes of the work undertaken by the Cross-border Transferability Task Force (XBT-TF). ICAO gratefully acknowledges the contributions of the XBT-TF as well as other expert groups and individual experts who provided support, advice and input for this manual.

Comments on this manual, particularly with regard to its application and usefulness, would be appreciated from all States, safety oversight audit missions and ICAO technical cooperation field missions. These will be taken into consideration in the preparation of subsequent editions.