Austria Updates its Aircraft Registration Framework

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What has changed under the 2026 amendment to the Austrian Aviation Act

Austria has recently introduced a number of changes affecting the registration and deregistration of aircraft. The amendments form part of a broader modernisation of the Austrian aviation regulatory framework and are complemented by changes in administrative practice following Amendment 7 to ICAO Annex 7.

The amendments to the Austrian Aviation Act (Luftfahrtgesetz – LFG) were published as Federal Law Gazette BGBl I No. 80/2026 and, insofar as relevant here, entered into force on 1 September 2026.

For aircraft owners, operators, lessors, financiers and parties involved in aircraft transactions, three developments are particularly relevant.

New five year deadline for completion of aircraft registration

One of the most significant changes concerns Section 16(3)(2) LFG.

Previously, an aircraft could be removed from the Austrian Aircraft Register if the remaining certificates required under Section 12 LFG had not been applied for within three months following registration.

The 2026 amendment introduces an additional long-stop date: even where the relevant applications have been filed in time, the aircraft may now be deregistered if the required certificates have not actually been issued within five years from the date of application.

This closes a practical gap in the previous regime. An aircraft should no longer be able to remain on the Austrian register indefinitely where the registration process has been initiated but never successfully completed.

From a transactional perspective, this is particularly relevant for aircraft whose registration or certification process has remained pending for an extended period. Owners, financiers and prospective purchasers should therefore verify not only the registration status itself, but also whether all certificates required under Section 12 LFG have actually been issued.

New Registration and Deregistration Certificates

A further development results from Amendment 7 to ICAO Annex 7, which introduced standardised forms for Certificates of Registration and Deregistration.

Austro Control has already implemented the new Certificate of Deregistration based on the ICAO Annex 7 model. As the form of a deregistration certificate had not previously been specifically regulated under the Austrian Civil Aircraft and Aeronautical Equipment Ordinance 2010 (Zivilluftfahrzeug- und Luftfahrtgerät-Verordnung 2010 – ZLLV 2010), no amendment to the ZLLV was required for its introduction.

The position is different for the Certificate of Registration, the form of which is prescribed by the ZLLV. Implementation of the new ICAO format therefore requires a corresponding amendment to the ZLLV.

The changes are more than merely cosmetic. Standardised registration and deregistration documentation facilitates cross-border aircraft transfers and provides foreign registries, operators, lessors and financiers with more readily recognisable evidence of the aircraft’s registration status.

Airworthiness remarks on deregistration

Of particular interest for aircraft transactions is a further feature of the new Austrian deregistration certificate.

In connection with transfers within the EASA regulatory system, Austro Control now includes a statement concerning known airworthiness issues in order to support transfers under Regulation (EU) No. 1321/2014, Part-M/Part-ML.

The certificate may indicate that no airworthiness concerns are known to Austro Control at the time of deregistration. Alternatively, it may state that known airworthiness concerns exist, with further details to be obtained from Austro Control.

This information was not previously provided in this form on an Austrian deregistration certificate and may therefore become an important element of the documentation reviewed in aircraft sales, leasing and financing transactions.

At the same time, the legal quality and consequences of the statement remain unclear. A statement that there are ‘no known airworthiness concerns’ should not necessarily be understood as a positive certification that the aircraft is airworthy. Nor is it entirely clear to what extent a purchaser, lessor, financier or receiving aviation authority may legally rely on such a statement.

Conversely, an indication that airworthiness concerns are known does not, by itself, establish their nature or severity, or whether they prevent the aircraft from being registered or operated in another jurisdiction.

The new remark should therefore be viewed as an additional source of regulatory information rather than a substitute for technical due diligence, review of the aircraft records and confirmation of the applicable airworthiness status.

Digital verification of aviation documents

The LFG amendment also introduces a new Section 145d LFG, creating the statutory basis for electronic verification of official aviation documents.

Austrian aviation authorities may include a link or code on certificates and administrative decisions providing direct access to an authority-operated database. The database may show the issuing authority and date, the relevant document reference number and, importantly, the document’s current status – including whether it has been suspended, limited, deferred, revoked or withdrawn.

This is particularly useful in an increasingly digital transaction environment. Instead of relying solely on a PDF or copy of an aviation document, transaction parties may be able to verify directly whether the document is authentic and remains effective.

Why does this matter

Taken together, the changes reflect a move towards greater transparency, standardisation and digital verification in the Austrian aircraft registration system.

The new five-year rule prevents incomplete registrations from remaining unresolved indefinitely. The new ICAO-based deregistration documentation improves the international transferability and recognition of Austrian aircraft documentation. The additional airworthiness remark gives receiving authorities and transaction parties potentially valuable information about known technical issues – although its precise legal effect remains to be tested. Finally, the new document database should make it easier to establish whether aviation certificates presented in a transaction are genuine and still valid.

For aircraft acquisitions, financings, leases and cross-border transfers involving Austrian-registered aircraft, registration and deregistration documentation should therefore be reviewed more closely than before – both from a legal and a technical perspective.