The Isle of Man has become increasingly confident in the Aviation sector, since the establishment of the Isle of Man Aircraft Registry in March 2007. It was designed to attract owners of private, non-commercial aircraft in Europe, as a registry in a European time zone was required to look after the steadily increasing number of European-owned aircraft.
Generally, a purpose trust is established to own the aircraft but specialists in the Isle of Man can provide appropriate guidance.
Island businesses are able to offer mortgages, Manx lawyers will register such mortgages for foreign banks, and corporate service providers (CSPs) offer new structures to own and manage locally registered aircraft.
The cluster of aviation-related businesses is currently growing, thanks in part to high regulatory standards, in conjunction with no insurance premium tax (compared with 6% in the UK).
The Isle of Man's aircraft registration prefix nationality mark is 'M' followed by a hyphen and four characters. This has already produced some interesting registrations such as M-AGIC, M-YJET, M-IDAS and M-ONEY. Aircraft owners may also transfer their personal registration to their next aircraft.
In July 2012 the Aircraft Registry achieved a significant milestone with the registration of its 500th aircraft.
Acknowledgements: whereyoucan.im and DED