Premier Ewart Brown is confident issues over Bermuda's aircraft registry will soon be ironed out after meetings in the UK.

The Premier was in London this week for the annual Overseas Territories Consultative Council meetings.

During his visit he met top UK civil servants from the Department of Transportation and Air Safety Support International Department. Bermuda's Director of Civil Aviation Thomas Dunstan also attended the meetings.

A press release stated the meetings gave both parties the opportunity to discuss the UK Government's concerns over Bermuda's registry, in particular the growth of the regulatory and the oversight capabilities of Bermuda's Department of Civil Aviation.

It added: "The UK Department of Transport acknowledged the importance of the Register to Bermuda and expressed their support for its continuance while the Premier reassured the Department of Transport of the Bermuda Government's support for the Department of Civil Aviation in maintaining regulatory requirements in line with international standards."

Dr. Brown said: "I am confident that we are now back on track and the future of our Aircraft Register is not in doubt."

Bermuda's registry generated $16 million in revenue last year and is expected to generate $19 million this year. In the last seven years the number of planes registered locally has risen from 140 to 500.

Many of those planes are western-built aircraft that operate in Russia and are financed by US companies. Those companies choose the Bermuda registry because they are more confident in the Island's regulatory framework, which makes it easier for them to retrieve the plane should the operator default on the contract. Some companies also see a tax advantage to registering in Bermuda, according to the Department of Civil Aviation.

During the last year the fact that many of the planes are operated in Russia has been a sticking point for the UK Department of Transport.

According to the Opposition, the UK's concerns are based on a less than favourable audit of the Department of Civil Aviation by an international organisation.

In 2009 the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) audit concluded Bermuda did not have a sufficient number of technical staff to effectively fulfil its safety oversight responsibilities. While the registry has more than tripled in size over the last seven years the number of staff employed had only risen by one at the time of the audit.

As the UK is the actual signatory of the ICAO agreement, they have questioned whether Bermuda is living up the standards required by the international group.

Government has since said it is working to address issues raised in the audit.