Last year saw 47 fewer planes on the Civil Aviation Authority of the Cayman Islands’ Aircraft Registry than in 2024, mostly due to completion of leasing deals on aircraft temporarily registered here.
In December 2025, there were 221 aircraft on the registry, compared to 268 in December 2024. The fewer registrations has meant a drop in revenue, from $7.8 million in 2024 to $7 million in 2025, a decrease of 9.9%. Registration fees made up 74% of the authority’s overall revenue for the year.
The authority’s annual report for 2025, tabled in Parliament at its latest session last month, notes there were 111 de-registrations throughout the year, and 64 new registrations.
Of the planes on the registry, 42 were commercial, 129 were private, and 50 were in ‘transition’, meaning aircraft that are temporarily registered in Cayman, usually while between leases. The transition arrangement provides financiers and lessors with a secure, interim parking solution for the aircraft.
In its annual report, the authority attributed the drop in the number of aircraft on the registry to the close out of transition projects.
Last year, the transition activity generated revenue of $1.6 million in 2025, compared to $2.3 million in 2024, which accounted for 22% of aircraft registration revenue, a decrease of 32% from 2024.
However, the authority noted that 2024 was a “particularly strong year for transition registrations, driven by a bankruptcy case that resulted in 48 new registrations”. Those 48 were among a total of 104 new registrations that year.
The Civil Aviation Authority added, “The market slowed in 2025 and is expected to remain subdued through the end of 2026, largely due to lease extensions stemming from ongoing aircraft supply chain constraints.”
It said the interest in the lessor market for registration of aircraft transitioning between leases has remained “constant” for the past three years, noting that this lease transitioning niche, which was officially launched in Dublin, Ireland in October 2019, has realised “significant growth since its inception”.
One of the purposes of including transition projects in the registry is specifically to enable them to register in Cayman and then de-register, to make the transfer of leases easier. The Civil Aviation Authority stated that of the de-registrations in 2025, 76% were associated with transition projects, “thereby fulfilling the objectives of this niche market”.
The authority described its aircraft registry as being “globally recognised as a reputable and safe option for private and corporate aircraft owners to have their aircraft certified annually by professional technical staff, in various jurisdictions, with many years of air safety regulatory experience”.
The majority of the aircraft in the registry are private, which can include turbojet planes, aircraft above 5,700 kilograms and helicopters that are based on yachts.
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