CABINET NOTES: The Cabinet invited the Principal of the Eastern Caribbean Civil Aviation Authority (ECCAA) and its legal team to address the members on two issues:

a. Aircraft Registration as a new non-tax-revenue source. Unlike the Antigua and Barbuda Department of Maritime Services (ADOMS) which registers hundreds of vessels, the ECCAA has only nine aircraft on its register: three LIAT aircraft, four Calvin Ayre helicopters, and two other private airplanes.

Many high-income earners who visit Antigua and Barbuda own their private jets and fly them into Antigua and into Barbuda.

The registration fee is determined by the type of aircraft so that a Golf Stream jet, for example, one of the more popular private jets that fly into the jurisdiction, pay no more than an SUV owner pays now for registration, and the revenue goes exclusively to ECCAA.

A license fee for airworthiness is also charged. Registration and license require an inspector with expertise in the aircraft type, if they are to be registered in Antigua and Barbuda.

Legislation governing ECCAA would have to be altered to allow for revenue-sharing, since the fees for the license and registration now go exclusively to ECCAA.