Oct 2020
As the British Virgin Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, registration of aircraft in the British Virgin Islands is governed by a UK statute, the Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2013. Air Safety Support International, a wholly owned subsidiary company of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, acts as the oversight regulatory body for the United Kingdom’s overseas territories in relation to aviation matters.
Air Safety Support International has powers under the UK Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2013. In addition, the BVI Airports Authority (the Authority), a statutory organisation of the government of the British Virgin Islands, was incorporated in 2005 to oversee the effective and efficient operation of all airports in the British Virgin Islands. The objectives of the Authority include, inter alia:
- to acquire, own, operate, control, manage, develop, administer and maintain the international airport and any extension thereof, and any designated airport in the territory as a commercial undertaking in a manner that recognises its role in the first instance as an international airport and for the benefit of the economy of the territory;
- to provide and maintain, on a commercial basis, facilities and services for air transport and such other facilities and services as are necessary or desirable for, or in connection with, the international airport or any designated airport;
- to collect such dues and charges as the company may be authorised by an enactment to collect; and
- to use, develop and manage, on a commercial basis, all lands vested in, transferred or leased to the company.
The relevant European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) approvals and Overseas Territories Aviation Requirements (OTARs) under the UK Air Navigation (Overseas Territories) Order 2013 apply to air carrier operations.
This chapter was originally published in The Aviation Law Review – Edition 8