A Convention that keeps growing
The Cape Town Convention on international interests in mobile equipment now covers more than 90 ratifying jurisdictions, with the latest protocol entering into force in key countries across Southeast Asia and Latin America. For operators and financiers, this reshapes the risk calculus on many cross-border transactions.
Three immediate practical effects
Faster international registries. The International Registry maintained by Aviareto in Dublin is processing registrations in under 48 hours for the new jurisdictions, compared with the weeks that local registrations used to require. This allows leasing and financing transactions to close more quickly and, above all, with certain priority over subsequent creditors.
Strengthened IDERA procedures. The Irrevocable Deregistration and Export Request Authorisation has become a more predictable tool. The ratifying state's declaration to accept IDERAs without challenge allows creditors to exercise repossession and aircraft export in an operationally smooth manner, although procedural nuances remain and should be mapped case by case.
Insolvency: Alternative A consolidates. Jurisdictions that have adopted Alternative A (the "creditor-friendly" option) offer a predictable timetable: if the debtor fails to remedy its default within 60 days of the event of default, the creditor recovers the asset. The window is narrow, but it provides legal certainty that jurisdictions operating under general insolvency rules cannot guarantee.
What changes for Spain
Spain ratified the Convention in 2013 along with the Aircraft Protocol in the same package. The Spanish declaration accepted Alternative A. In practice, this makes Spain a friendly jurisdiction for European and Asian lessors, particularly in transactions with Spanish operators under operating leasing programmes.
The remaining challenge is coordination with national registries: the competent Movable Property Registry for aircraft continues to be the one in Madrid, and case law has clarified in recent years that registration in the International Registry takes priority over subsequent local registrations. This is a point worth documenting in transaction memoranda.
Practical recommendation
Any cross-border transaction should now, more than ever, include a specific analysis of the operator's and lessor's jurisdiction against Cape Town. International leasing templates that have circulated for years have become partially obsolete: it is worth reviewing IDERA, registration and event-of-default clauses.
If your next cross-border transaction touches any of the newly ratifying jurisdictions, Legalair can help you structure it with legal certainty.