28 January 2026
The FAA has begun issuing new Certificates of Aircraft Registration for aircraft previously registered through Southern Aircraft Consultancy Inc. (SACI), following the company’s acquisition by Valiair.
The move follows the FAA’s decision earlier this month to invalidate existing SACI-held registrations, grounding affected aircraft unless new paperwork was submitted. The FAA has now started issuing temporary Certificates of Registration — often referred to as fly-wires— allowing aircraft to return to service while full registrations are processed.
According to aviation law firm Gilchrist Aviation Law, fly-wires are being issued where beneficial owners have returned their now-invalid certificates and submitted the required replacement documentation. The firm says the FAA began processing applications around ten days after SACI was formally notified that its registrations had been invalidated.
Gilchrist Aviation Law, which is working with SACI, Valiair and the FAA, says turnaround times have been measured in days once paperwork is received. At the current pace, the remaining SACI-registered aircraft could be re-registered within the next few weeks.
The issue now appears to be moving toward resolution, but not before a number of aircraft (including FLYER’s C182) were grounded in the process.
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