An international treaty regulating aircraft will be expanded later this year to include Bermuda, according to Tourism Development and Transport Minister Shawn Crockwell.

In the House of Assembly he said the issue of the Cape Town Treaty was broached during the recent Aviation Policy Consultation Conference in the UK, which he attended. He told the House that during the conference the UK had confirmed that the treaty will be ratified and extended to include Bermuda this autumn.

“In essence, the Convention seeks to provide financiers, creditors and lessors in the aviation market greater confidence when granting credit and in practice it has also had the benefit of lowering cost of financing due to decreased credit risk,” Mr Crockwell said. “The announcement of the UK’s timeline for ratification is welcome news for Bermuda.”

The conference, organised by the UK Department for Transport, covered a wide range of items including Space Planes and Space Tourism, Airspace and Air Traffic Control Services, Bilateral Air Services Agreements, Airport Development/Extension, Development of Regulatory Competence and Offshore Aircraft Registry Policy.

Another area of conversation was the use of unmanned aviation vehicles (UAV), sometimes referred to as ‘drones’. Mr Crockwell said several jurisdictions expressed concern about their use, but that Bermuda already has legislation in place to regulate them.

“Most of the UAVs are fitted with cameras therefore there are concerns with data protection and while they are typically small in size, weighing less than two kilograms, the issue of safety will also need to be addressed,” Mr Crockwell said.

“The operation of UAVs is unregulated in most jurisdictions, however Bermuda was pleased to report the operation and use of UAVs is regulated in Bermuda and we have offered to assist other Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies with the development of policy in this area.”