.aero Domain
The Verified Domain for Aviation
Register your .aero domain from just £37.50/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included with every domain.
This domain has registration restrictions
The .aero domain is restricted to the air-transport industry. You need an Aviation Reservation ID from the registry, and registrations from outside the aviation community can be refused. Read the full eligibility rules.
What is a .aero domain?
The .aero domain is a restricted TLD sponsored by SITA, the air transport industry's IT provider. Only verified members of the aviation community can register one, which gives it a credibility that open extensions can't match. Airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers, and air navigation service providers use .aero to signal their legitimacy in a heavily regulated industry.
Who should register .aero?
Airlines, airports, aerospace manufacturers, flight training schools, and air navigation service providers.
Why choose .aero?
- Restricted to verified aviation organisations
- Sponsored by SITA (air transport IT)
- Built-in industry credibility
- Covers pilots and air sports clubs as well as airlines
Who runs .aero, and since when
Registry data from the .aero delegation record held by IANA, which maintains the internet's root zone. Eligibility comes from the registry's own policy, and the prices are ours.
- Extension type
- Sponsored (sTLD)
- Registry operator
- Societe Internationale de Telecommunications Aeronautique (SITA INC USA)
- The organisation that runs the extension
- In the root zone since
- 2001
- Delegated 21 December 2001
- Who can register
- Verified members of the civil aviation community only, via a SITA Membership ID
- Checked against the registry's own policy
- Our price
- £37.50 a year
- Ex VAT. Renews at the same price
How the .aero Membership ID gate works
.aero is older than almost everything else on this site. It was delegated on 21 December 2001, in the first small batch of sponsored extensions, and it was built for one industry rather than for the open market. SITA, the air transport industry's IT co-operative, sponsors it, and the registry calls it the world's first industry-based top level domain.
You cannot simply buy one. Before a registrar can complete your order you need a Membership ID from SITA, issued once you have shown you belong to the aviation community. The registry publishes eighteen registrant groups, from airlines and airports through aerial work operators, air navigation service providers, aviation media, flight schools and pilots, and each group has its own accepted evidence: an air operator certificate, an IATA or ICAO identifier, a pilot licence, an FAI affiliation, or a letter on company letterhead.
The gate is the product. Anyone can claim to be in aviation on a .com; a .aero has been checked by the industry sponsor. That is worth something to an operator or a supplier bidding for work in a heavily regulated sector, and worth nothing outside it. Note the pricing: transferring a .aero in costs more than registering one, so plan any move.
Who is allowed to register .aero?
Only members of the civil aviation community may hold a .aero, and you must obtain a Membership ID from SITA before a registrar can complete the order.
- Membership ID comes first
- You apply to SITA, not to your registrar. The registry says the ID is issued within two working days where the eligibility requirements are met, and that you cannot finalise the domain order without it.
- Eighteen registrant groups
- The published categories cover airlines and commercial operators, airports, aerospace manufacturers, air navigation service providers, freight forwarders, aviation distribution systems, flight schools and research centres, industry associations, aviation media, aviation professionals, business aircraft operators, aerial work, air safety and medical, air sports, suppliers and service providers, civil aviation authorities, government organisations and pilots.
- Evidence you must supply
- It varies by group: an air operator certificate, an IATA two character or ICAO three letter airline identifier, an airport location identifier, a pilot licence, affiliation to an FAI member organisation, a design or maintenance organisation approval, or a letter on company letterhead. The registry notes that an email address matching your company website is one of the simplest ways to verify.
- Name format rules
- Some groups have their own naming conventions rather than a free choice. Airlines may register their two character identifier, airports are directed to the form using their three letter IATA location identifier under airport.aero, and the registry publishes a separate list of reserved airport codes.
- If you do not qualify
- The registry operator states that it reserves the right not to register, to suspend, to delete or to withdraw any registration that does not comply with SITA's policies, and that organisations must be able to demonstrate they are exclusively or substantially focused on civil aviation. WIPO is the appointed provider for eligibility disputes.
Rules taken from the .aero eligibility and name format rules. Registry policy can change, so check before you buy if the answer matters to you.
Not sure whether you qualify? Ask us before you order and we will check the registry rules with you. We would rather answer the question than take an order the registry will refuse.
Is .aero the right choice for you?
We would rather sell you the right extension once than the wrong one twice.
.aero works well if
- You are an airline, airport, maintenance organisation, ground handler or flight school, and being verified by the industry sponsor is a signal you can point at in a tender.
- You want an address that a business outside aviation cannot obtain, which rules out lookalikes and copycats by construction rather than by enforcement.
- You hold an IATA or ICAO identifier and want the web address that matches the code your industry already knows you by.
Look elsewhere if
- You are outside the aviation community. There is no route in, and a registration made anyway can be suspended, deleted or withdrawn.
- You need the domain today. The Membership ID comes from SITA and the registry quotes two working days, before your registrar even starts.
- You are moving an existing .aero to us. The transfer costs noticeably more than a fresh registration on our price list, which is unusual and worth budgeting for.
Aviation enthusiast rather than industry member? A .com carries no membership step and no eligibility risk. See .com pricing.
.aero vs .com: which should you register?
Only one of these asks who you are. A .com is open to everybody on earth and proves nothing; a .aero has been through an eligibility check by the industry's own sponsor before it was ever issued. For a regulated operator that difference is the entire value proposition, and it is not something a competitor outside the sector can copy.
What .com still wins on is reach and reflex. Passengers, recruiters and journalists type .com without thinking, and a .aero address will occasionally be read as a typo by people outside the industry. The usual arrangement is to hold the .com for the public-facing site and use the .aero where the audience is the industry itself: operations, trade communications, tenders and email.
.aero domain questions, answered
What people ask us before registering a .aero domain.
Can't find what you're looking for?
Ask us directlyNo. The registry states that only members of the civil aviation community may register one, covering airlines, airports, companies, organisations, associations, government agencies and qualified individuals. Organisations must be able to demonstrate they are exclusively or substantially focused on civil aviation, and the registry operator decides whether an applicant meets that test. It also reserves the right not to register, or to suspend, delete or withdraw a domain that does not comply.
You apply to SITA through the registry website rather than through your registrar, choosing the registrant group you belong to and supplying that group's evidence. The registry says the ID is issued within two working days where the eligibility requirements are met. Once you have it, you give it to your registrar and the order can be completed. Without the ID the registration cannot proceed, so start there rather than at the checkout.
It depends on who you need to convince. If you are an operator, an approved maintenance organisation or a supplier bidding for aviation work, a verified extension says something a .com cannot, and the two day wait is trivial against the sales cycle. If your audience is passengers or the general public, they will type .com regardless, and the eligibility check buys you nothing they will notice. Most organisations that hold one hold both.
Included with Your .aero Domain
DNS Management
Full DNS zone editor to manage A, CNAME, MX, TXT, and all record types.
Email Forwarding
Set up professional email addresses and forward to any inbox.
Auto-Renewal
Never lose your domain with automatic renewal protection.
Free 10GB Mailbox
One 10GB mailbox (POP3/IMAP) included with every domain, on any TLD.
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Register your .aero domain today
Secure your .aero domain from just £37.50/yr. Free DNS management, email forwarding, and 10GB mailbox included.
