A Comprehensive List of Every Public Aviation Registry in the World (A-C)

Alexander Leslie
11 min readAug 6, 2020

--

Credit: USA Today, United Airlines

This reference guide is part of a reference list of all civil aviation registries in the world that are available to the public — covering sovereign states beginning with A-C.

Most United Nations member states that are signatories to the 1944 Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation are also members of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Therefore, the vast majority of states with a federal aviation administration — usually accompanied by a robust international air travel industry — keeps public registries of every commercial and private airliner registered in their state — accompanied by ownership information, model, home airport information, etc.

However, some states with strict privacy laws regarding aviation — such as Germany — do not publicly disclose aircraft registration information. In these cases, I will include archived records, ICAO codes, and anything else that could useful for identifying foreign aircraft on open-source flight radars.

Many smaller states with internal unrest, budgetary restrictions, or insignificant air travel industries — such as Afghanistan or Turkmenistan — do not keep updated registries.

As this list takes a considerable amount of time and energy to maintain, it will be updated as I work. Please be patient with the rest of the alphabet. :)

Afghanistan (ICAO Code: YA-)

The Afghan Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation does not keep an updated list of aircraft registration, however an 2013 archive of important links in English can be viewed here (via WayBack Machine).

A pre-WWII (1919–1939) archive of registered aircraft can be found here.

The current webpage for the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation (https://mot.gov.af/en) is unsecured and should not be viewed without a VPN.

Albania (ICAO Code: ZA-)

Albania does not maintain an online civil aviation registry.

Albania’s original registration code was B-A, however there is no known use of this code pre-1945.

Albania’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (http://www.transporti.gov.al/) does not keep an active website.

Algeria (ICAO Code: 7T-V-)

Algeria does not maintain an official civil aviation registry.

An archive of all registered civil rotorcraft in Algeria can be found here. An incomplete, unofficial list of active commercial aircraft can be found here.

Algeria’s original reporting code (1942–1962) was B-O. Its military reporting code is 7T-W.

A 2013 archive of Algeria’s Ministry of Transportation can be found here.

Andorra (ICAO Code: C3-)

Andorra does not maintain a public aviation registry, as most of its aircraft are registered in France and Spain.

Angola (ICAO Code: D2-)

Angola does not maintain a public aviation registry.

An archive of all registered civil rotorcraft in Angola can be found here. A pre-1975 historical archive of colonial aircraft in Angola (CR-L) can be found here.

Angola’s Ministry of Transport does not maintain an updated website.

Antigua and Barbuda (ICAO Code: V2-)

Antigua and Barbuda does not maintain a public aviation registry, as most of its aircraft are registered in the United Kingdom.

Its original registration code was VP-L — shared with the British Virgin Islands — until 1981.

Argentina (ICAO Code: LV-)

Argentina maintains a public aviation registry through the Civil Aviation Administration of Argentina (ANAC) here.

Argentina’s military/government reporting code is LQ-.

Armenia (ICAO Code: EK-)

Armenia maintains a public aviation registry through the Civil Aviation Committee of the Republic of Armenia here.

The attached spreadsheet link is not secured, so be cautious when accessing it. Preferably with a VPN or anti-virus program.

Credit: Civil Aviation Committee of the Republic of Armenia

Australia (ICAO Code: VH-)

Australia maintains a frequently updated, searchable aviation registry through the Civil Aviation Safety Authority here.

You can find an in-depth explanation of Australian registration numbers, wing markings, and serial numbers (useful for navigating the registry, which has 15,000+ listings) here.

Credit: Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia

Austria (ICAO Code: OE-)

Austria has a complicated list of ICAO prefixes, with the three most important clarified here:

OE-A/K: Private civilian aircraft

OE-B: Government/military

OE-L: Commercial airliners

Austria maintains a public, searchable aviation registry through Austro Control here.

Credit: Austro Control

Azerbaijan (ICAO Code: 4K-)

Azerbaijan does not maintain a public aviation register, however the Ministry of Transport, Communications, and High Technologies maintains a large database of information regarding operations and the fleet of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) here.

Bahamas (ICAO Code: C6-)

The Bahamas does not maintain a public aviation register, however the Civil Aviation Authority maintains an updated list of of approved air operators, drone registrations, and other valuable documents (i.e. legislation, regulations, white papers, etc.) here.

Bahrain (ICAO Code: A9C-)

Bahrain does not maintain a public aviation registry, however the Ministry of Transportation and Telecommunications has an in-depth guide to its licensing program and corresponding ICAO/IATA codes — as well as an explanation of these reporting codes — here.

Bangladesh (ICAO Code: S2-)

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh maintains an extensive, expansive database of its public Aeronautical Information Publication (AIP) here.

Bangladesh’s reporting code was SB- until 1971 and has not re-registered antiquated aircraft, so all archives will use this code for historic information.

Belarus (ICAO Code: EW-)

Belarus has not maintained a public aviation registry, nor a website for its Department of Aviation, since 2003. An archived version of the website can be found here (via WayBack Machine) — although its registry links are broken and outdated.

Belgium (ICAO Code: OO-)

Belgium maintains an updated, searchable aviation registry (in English) here.

Credit: Belgian Aircraft Register

Belize (ICAO Code: V3-)

Belize maintains an updated spreadsheet of civil aviation registrations through the Department of Civil Aviation here.

Historical archives of registered aircraft will use the reporting code VP-H until 1984.

Credit: Belize Department of Civil Aviation

Benin (ICAO Code: TY-)

Benin does not maintain a public aviation registry, however the National Agency of Civil Aviation maintains frequently updated documents on rules, regulations, and licensing here.

An archive of all private rotorcraft currently operating in Benin is here.

Bermuda (ICAO Code: VP-B / VQ-B-)

Bermuda does not maintain a public aviation registry, but rules and regulations regarding registration can be found on the Civil Aviation Authority’s website here.

Bermuda does not release private registration information to the public, however any citizen of Bermuda can make a written request to the CAA to obtain such information for personal use.

Bhutan (ICAO Code: A5-)

Bhutan has used the ICAO prefix of A5- since 2000, but does not appear to have any public aviation registry nor any registered aircraft registered to this code on foreign databases.

An incomplete list of aircraft can be found here.

Bolivia (ICAO Code: CP-)

Bolivia does not maintain a public aviation registry.

An incomplete list of aircraft currently operating in Bolivia can be found here.

An archive of historical aircraft registered in Bolivia pre-1940 can be found here.

Bosnia and Herzegovina (ICAO Code: E7-)

Bosnia and Herzegovina maintains a spreadsheet of all registered civil aircraft here. It is updated every 2–3 years, with the most recent update being in August 2018. More links from the Ministry of Communications and Transport, including airport registries, technical information, etc. can be found here.

An archive of private rotorcraft can be found here.

Credit: Ministry of Communications and Transport of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Botswana (ICAO Code: A2-)

Botswana maintains a public aviation registry, as well as multiple other important resources, through its Civil Aviation Authority. All relevant documents can be found here.

An archive of all private rotorcraft in Botswana can be found here.

Brazil (ICAO Code: PP-)

Brazil maintains an updated, searchable public aviation registry through its National Civil Aviation Agency which can be found here.

A historical archive of all aircraft registered in Brazil pre-1943 can be found here.

Credit: National Civil Aviation Agency of Brazil

British Virgin Islands (ICAO Code: VP-L-)

The British Virgin Islands does not maintain a public aviation registry, as most of its aircraft is registered through the United Kingdom.

Brunei (ICAO Code: V8-)

Brunei does not maintain a public aviation registry, but important links and documents can be obtained through the Department of Civil Aviation here.

Bulgaria (ICAO Code: LZ-)

The Sofia Administrative Court of Bulgaria ruled in 2016 that its civil aviation registry should be made available to the public under the Access to Public Information Act, however the Directorate General of the Civil Aviation Administration has still not made the registry publicly available. All relevant links related to registration information can be obtained here.

Burkina Faso (ICAO Code: XT-)

Burkina Faso does not maintain a public aviation registry. However, an incomplete crowd-sourced archive can be found here.

An archive of all rotorcraft operating in Burkina Faso can be found here.

Burundi (ICAO Code: 9U-)

Burundi does not maintain a public aviation registry, nor does it maintain a website for its Civil Aviation Authority.

An archive of all rotorcraft operating in Burundi can be found here.

Cambodia (ICAO Code: XU-)

Cambodia maintains a detailed spreadsheet of its aviation registry through its State Secretariat of Civil Aviation, which can be found here — amongst many other links.

Cameroon (ICAO Code: TJ-)

Cameroon does not maintain a public aviation registry, however it does maintain a frequently updated website with countless links to important documents through its Civil Aviation Authority which can be found (in English) here.

An archive of all private rotorcraft in Cameroon can be found here.

Canada (ICAO Code: C-)

Canada maintains an updated, searchable public aviation registry here which is highly detailed — information such as ownership, serial numbers, home airports, etc. are all publicly available.

This is one of the most transparent online aircraft registries in the world.

Credit: Transport Canada

Cape Verde (ICAO Code: D4-)

Cape Verde maintains a public aviation registry through its Agency of Civil Aviation which can be found here. The website has been incredibly buggy lately and almost impossible to navigate, but cached versions are much simpler and it is easy to obtain important information.

Cayman Islands (ICAO Code: VP-C-)

The Cayman Islands maintains an updated, searchable aviation registry through its Civil Aviation Authority which can be found here.

Central African Republic (ICAO Code: TL-)

The Central African Republic does not maintain a public aircraft registry, nor a website for its Ministry of Transportation.

An archive of private rotorcraft registered in CAR is available here.

Chad (ICAO Code: TT-)

Chad does not maintain a public aviation registry, however there is indication on its Authority for Civil Aviation’s website that there is a public registry currently under construction. It can be found here.

An archive of private rotorcraft registered in Chad can be found here.

Chile (ICAO Code: CC-)

Chile maintained a public aviation registry through its Directorate for Civil Aviation until 2017, but the current links on the official website are broken and outdated. The information can be found here.

An archive of aircraft registered in Chile pre-1931 can be found here.

China (ICAO Code: B-)

The People’s Republic of China maintains a convoluted, confusing set of websites with a public aviation registry that is mandated by law. The website can be found here. The site is difficult to navigate for non-speakers of Chinese, as the English-language site has not been actively maintained seemingly since 2017. China has since removed the English version of the aircraft registry and it is only updated in Mandarin.

Very difficult to navigate unless you can read Traditional Chinese proficiently.

Colombia (ICAO Code: HK-)

Colombia maintains a searchable public aviation registry through its Department of Civil Aeronautics, which can be found here.

An archive of aircraft registered in Colombia pre-1954 can be found here.

Credit: Colombian Department of Civil Aeronautics

Comoros (ICAO Code: D6-)

Comoros does not maintain a public aviation registry, nor any websites containing useful information about aircraft registration or regulations.

An archive containing one entry of an Aérospatiale AS350 Eurocopter from 1974 can be found here.

Congo, Republic of (ICAO Code: TN-)

The Republic of the Congo does not maintain a public aviation registry, nor any websites of significance.

An incomplete crowd-sourced list of aircraft registered can be found here.

Cook Islands (ICAO Code: E5-)

The Cook Islands does not maintain a public aviation registry, but it does maintain a website for its Ministry of Transport which can be found here.

The website is unsecured and should be viewed using a VPN or other precautionary tools.

Congo, Democratic Republic of (ICAO Code: 9Q-)

The Democratic Republic of the Congo does not maintain any public aviation registry, nor any websites of use.

An incomplete crowd-sourced list of registered aircraft can be found here.

Costa Rica (ICAO Code: TI-)

Costa Rica does not maintain any public aviation registry, nor any websites of use.

An archive of aircraft registered in Costa Rica pre-1936 can be found here.

Cote d’Ivoire (ICAO Code: TU-)

Cote d’Ivoire does not maintain any public aviation registry, nor any websites of use.

An archive of private rotorcraft registered in the Ivory Coast can be found here.

Croatia (ICAO Code: 9A-)

Croatia does not maintain any public aviation registry, however a PDF from 2016 exists from the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency that can be viewed here.

The spreadsheet contains over 20+ pages of registry information, however some of it is partially outdated. After using it to examine FlightAware24, I was able to independently verify that some of the information on the PDF is correct and still up-to-date.

Credit: Croatian Aviation Agency

Cuba (ICAO Code: CU-)

Cuba does not maintain any public aviation registry, nor any websites of use.

An archive of historical aircraft registered in Cuba pre-1953 (before the Cuban Revolution) can be found here.

Cyprus (ICAO Code: 5B-)

Cyprus maintains a public aviation registry through the Department of Civil Aviation, which can be found here. An unofficial register from 2012 that is partially outdated, but still useable, can be found here.

An archive of private rotorcraft registered in Cyprus can be found here.

Credit: Freelance Aerospace Writers

Czech Republic (ICAO Code: OK-)

The Czech Republic maintains an incredibly detailed, searchable aviation registry which can be found here.

This is one of the most detailed registries in the European Union, containing ownership and operator information, licenses, serial numbers, repair records, and much, much more.

Credit: Aircraft Registry of the Czech Republic

This is the first list in a series of civil aviation registers, so please be patient as I work on the rest of the ICAO member states.

Alexander Leslie is a foreign policy analyst, freelance journalist, and has an M.A. in Eurasian, Russian, & East European Studies from Georgetown University. His interests include U.S.-Georgia relations, energy politics, and studies in counterterrorism policy.

Contact: aejleslie@gmail.com

Follow me on Twitter!

--

--