Enacting the Malta Aircraft Registration Act should open the doors for the country to become a “one-off destination in this sector”, according to Transport Minister Austin Gatt.

During the launch of the law yesterday, Dr Gatt said the aviation sector was an opportunity for economic success.

The law that regulates aircraft registration was the first important step in the government’s vision to make aviation as successful as the financial and maritime sectors, he added.

The launch frequently highlighted the parallels between the aviation register and the Malta maritime register, which, since its enactment in 2003, had become the seventh largest register in the world.

Today’s maritime register contained about 5,000 ships, Dr Gatt said, pointing out that this was achieved over a number of years not because Malta could afford to pay low wages but because it offered a good service. However, he said, the amount of airplanes registered would never reach the number of ships because the markets were totally different.

“The indications are that the added value is better and there is good potential that the registration of airplanes will lead to another investment in this sector,” Dr Gatt said, pointing out that this was a sector of individuals who were ready to invest.

Although the registry would not boom overnight, Dr Gatt said there could be problems with manpower and the government was prepared to invest in training and import workers from abroad to “fill the vacuum in the meantime”.

Maltese experts were top of the range, albeit some workers were asking for double the salary of their foreign counterparts.

The law, which came into force on October 1, was enacted following political consensus by both sides of Parliament, something Dr Gatt pointed out was rare.

The next step was to build up the register to become one of the largest in Europe. This was a chance to not only have an aviation register of international repute but also to have more companies in Malta that specialised in repairing aircraft, in aviation management services and other small niches that might be developed in the future.

The next phase was one of marketing and building contacts in the sector, Dr Gatt said, appealing for stakeholders to “wave the Maltese flag” with their contacts.