The UK should seek to rejoin the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to resolve constraints on industry growth, according to a panel of industry leaders addressing the British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) conference in London on Tuesday.

Panelists, including prominent aviation lawyers and aircraft operator executives, concluded that efforts by the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), while well intended, have not been sufficient to overcome market access and regulatory disadvantages since the country left the EU at the end of January 2020.

According to data shared during the conference by WingX, since 2019, the UK’s aircraft register has slipped from 12th place in the world rankings to 18th. The number of G-registered business aircraft now accounts for just 1% of the global total.

Addressing concerns about declining numbers of UK-registered aircraft, Mark Bisset, with the London-based Clyde & Partners law firm, said that regulatory disconnects have discouraged aircraft owners from adopting G tail numbers, and instead they have gravitated to registers such as Malta (9H) and San Marino (T7). “If I could change one thing [to boost the G register], it would be for the UK to be back in EASA, and then also improve factors such as tax issues for imports and crew licensing,” he told the 150 BBGA members at the conference.

Graham Williamson, managing director of Gama Aviation, said that separate EASA and UK licensing requirements for pilots and engineers are one of several disincentives for owners to register aircraft in the UK. “Europe and the UK need to get back together or at least achieve greater reciprocity [in regulation],” he said. “At the moment, the only way you can transfer an aircraft from EASA to the UK is via the Isle of Man.”

Andrew Hoy, a business aircraft pilot and CEO of Affinity Aviation Group, echoed calls for the UK to rejoin EASA. He also urged the CAA to be more proactive in marketing the benefits of the UK aircraft registry and to be more approachable and user-friendly, as he said Maltese officials have done.

While acknowledging the UK’s post-Brexit break with EASA, Aoife O’Sullivan, a partner with The Air Law Firm, said the UK still had the potential to be an attractive location for aircraft transactions. “There is a huge opportunity for the UK to handle aircraft [sales] closing, pre-purchase inspections, and offer tax efficiency,” she commented.