Press Release

Issued by Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority.

May 22, 2017

In October last year Bermuda's former Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), home to the oldest and largest offshore aircraft registry, completed its transition to the Bermuda Civil Aviation Authority (BCAA). The shift from a government run department to a semi-autonomous administration has provided a host of benefits to the registry including the flexibility to become more business and customer-focused, which is expected to result in a 10% growth over the next three years.

Director general, Thomas Dunstan, has used the first six-months as a regulated authority to concentrate on strengthening the foundation of the new brand through the creation of a strategic business plan, focusing on staff hiring and improved processes, building brand awareness and planning for market growth.

He comments, “After over 85 years of registering aircraft, the decision to transition to an authority was made to reduce the restrictions that apply to the public sector, and use the newly formed authority to maintain safety oversight, increase productivity, enhance customer satisfaction and ultimately grow the registry.

“So far, we have been able to grow our team by 10%, adding staff members in key areas such as finance, operations and IT. Our current registry consists of over 780 aircraft, and with our new business model we expect a significant growth in the near future. 

“We have started to increase our exposure at international events, such as EBACE, to promote the fact that we are a global service provider in aircraft registration and safety oversight. We exhibited at ABACE in Shanghai for the first time last month, which has been a target market for us for some time, and had a lot of positive feedback.”

The biggest obstacle that the BCAA had to overcome was transitioning the processes from operating as a government department to a functioning business. An independent board of directors is responsible for the actions of the authority, and the general administration of its affairs and business, which is made up of directors from a variety of business backgrounds including; finance, legal, administration and aviation.

Thomas comments, “All board members had to gain a thorough understanding of the business operations and structure in a very short amount of time. The benefit of the board is the diversity that has brought new thinking and provided some innovative strategies to enhance the registry further.”

BCAA's new brand comes at a good time for Bermuda, as the island plays host the 35th America's Cup, a series of prestigious sailing races that culminates with the oldest trophy in international sport, starting later in May. The event will bring a lot of visitors and private aircraft to the island, which has lead BCAA to be very involved in the implementation of airspace restrictions and approving helicopter operations throughout the event.

Thomas said, “It is a very exciting time for our island and BCAA is very honored to play such a vital safety role to this reputable and internationally broadcast event. The America's Cup has kept us extremely busy over the last year, but the benefit of being an authority is that we can adapt to what is needed, react quickly and help find solutions faster than we have been able to previously.”

BCAA, formally Bermuda Department of Civil Aviation (BDCA), was established in 1931 and is responsible for the regulation and safety oversight of aviation in Bermuda. The Bermuda Aircraft Registry is the first and largest offshore registry in the world ranking 10th biggest in size compared to the 191 signatory States to the Convention on International Civil Aviation. Bermuda has over 750 multi-national company and high-net-worth individual aircrafts on the registry and over 130 of those are private aircraft.