Cape Town, South Africa: There are moments when the aviation industry needs to pause, reflect and interrogate the frameworks upon which its growth and sustainability depend. The forthcoming 2-REG McGill Cape Town Convention Conference, scheduled for 15–17 November 2026 at the University of South Africa’s (UNISA) Parow Campus in Cape Town, presents precisely such an opportunity. As the Cape Town Convention marks its 25th anniversary, the gathering brings together academia and industry in what promises to be an important global conversation about the future of aircraft finance, international asset security and aviation development.
The conference is a collaborative initiative between McGill University and 2-REG, with UNISA joining as the hosting partner. Proceedings will commence with a welcome reception and cocktail mixer on the evening of Sunday, 15 November, providing an opportunity for delegates to connect before the substantive deliberations get underway on Monday, 16 November, and continue through Tuesday, 17 November.
The collaboration is particularly noteworthy because it reflects the growing importance of bridging the divide between academic scholarship and industry practice. The initiative was steered by none other than Flying Jurist’s Group Chairman, Professor Angelo Dube, in his capacity as Distinguished Professor of Aviation and Aeronautical Studies at UNISA. His involvement illustrates an increasingly important model of academic leadership: the practicing academic, whose contribution to knowledge is informed not only by research and teaching but also by active participation in the industry about which they write and teach.
Professor Dube brings an interesting combination of professional experience to this space. Beyond his extensive legal training and academic credentials, he holds a Master of Business Leadership and is a Commercial Pilot with an ICAO Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL). This combination of legal scholarship, business leadership and practical aviation experience provides a useful illustration of why contemporary aviation challenges require perspectives that extend beyond the traditional boundaries of individual disciplines.
The conference is expected to attract more than 100 aviation professionals from across the globe, representing a diverse cross-section of the industry. Airline executives, academics, aviation lawyers, civil aviation authorities, researchers, economists, trade specialists and aircraft finance professionals will converge in Cape Town. This diversity is important. The Cape Town Convention is not simply a legal instrument to be examined by lawyers. It is an international framework with far-reaching implications for aircraft financing, leasing, asset recovery, investment and the commercial viability of aviation markets.
Adopted in 2001, the Convention and its Aircraft Protocol sought to address the challenges associated with financing high-value mobile assets across jurisdictions. Twenty-five years later, its influence on international aircraft finance is substantial. However, anniversaries should not merely be occasions for celebration. They should also provide an opportunity to interrogate what has worked, where implementation remains uneven and what adjustments may be necessary to respond to an evolving aviation environment.
The conference programme reflects this need for critical engagement. Among the subjects scheduled for discussion are the evolution of the Convention and the International Registry, aviation finance and leasing, default remedies and IDERA, regulatory developments and state practice, enforcement and cross-border asset recovery. The deliberations will also consider the Convention’s relationship with sustainable aviation, including the financing of next-generation aircraft, eVTOL technologies and emerging green finance structures. Looking further ahead, delegates will examine accession gaps, possible protocol extensions and the Convention’s relevance to emerging asset classes.
The participation of 2-REG is particularly valuable in this regard. Its role in the aircraft registry sector and its engagement with the operational dimensions of the Convention bring an important industry perspective to the discussions. The value of such participation lies in the opportunity to move beyond theoretical interpretations and consider the practical experiences, institutional arrangements and challenges that shape the implementation of international aviation instruments.
Equally important is the contribution of established voices in aviation law. Among those participating is Adv Anne-Lize Lourens, Deputy President of the Society for International Aviation Law, whose involvement brings further depth to the legal and institutional dimensions of the programme. Her participation, alongside other international experts, ensures that the discussions draw on a broad range of professional and jurisdictional experiences.
Perhaps the most significant feature of this collaboration, however, is what it says about the relationship between universities and industry. For too long, these sectors have sometimes operated within their own silos, with academia generating knowledge and industry confronting practical challenges, often without sufficient engagement between the two. Yet the problems confronting modern aviation rarely fit neatly into one discipline or institutional setting. Aircraft financing, for instance, intersects with law, economics, international trade, business strategy, regulation and technological innovation.
The industry therefore needs what might be described as a multidisciplinary, or MIT, approach: one that brings multiple fields of knowledge and practical experience to bear on complex problems. No single institution, profession or sector possesses all the answers.
For African aviation, this conversation is particularly relevant. The continent’s ambitions for greater connectivity, increased investment and sustainable market growth require sound legal and financial frameworks, informed policy decisions and institutions capable of translating international standards into meaningful economic opportunities.
The 2-REG McGill Cape Town Convention Conference is therefore more than an anniversary gathering. It is an opportunity to demonstrate what becomes possible when universities and industry deliberately pool their intellectual and practical resources. As aviation navigates its next phase of development, such collaborations may well prove as important as the conventions, policies and technologies that underpin the industry itself.
Vuyolwethu Siyolise Musoke, Correspondent
Vuyo is currently busy with her LLM by full research and is focusing on the area of aviation law and trade.
