Pilots with cancelled or suspended licences will have new appeal rights

Pilots and others have faced a convoluted and costly process for getting decisions against them reviewed. Photo / NZME

Pilots will soon be able to get licence cancellations or suspensions reviewed by experts.

The Aviation Industry Association and Air New Zealand welcomed the decision, after the Government heard some pilots had to spend more than $300,000 just to get an appeal through the District Court.

More details about the review system were announced today.

“Air New Zealand is strongly supportive of any initiative which strengthens the consistency and transparency of the Civil Aviation Authority’s decision-making,” Air New Zealand chief operational integrity and safety officer Captain David Morgan said.

“We therefore welcome the independent review power for its ability to increase the CAA’s capability as a regulator, increasing sector and public confidence in the process,” he told the Herald.

“These are critical regulatory outcomes referred to in the strategic intentions document from the Ministry of Regulation which we strongly support.”

The Aviation Industry Association, representing many commercial operators, said it had been very expensive for aviation professionals to try to have adverse decisions reviewed.

“We have supported the establishment of an independent review function,” Aviation Industry Association chief executive Simon Wallace said today.

“Now that the independent review system is law, the scope of the decisions must be as broad as possible,” the association said previously in its submission on the independent review of the director of Civil Aviation’s decisions.

“Having fees for an independent review is a safeguard for appealing anything and everything,” it added at the time.

The association also suggested independent reviewers include one person with technical or engineering experience and one person with operations experience at any one time, not lawyers or professional investigators without aviation industry experience.

Acting Transport Minister James Meager today said the new independent reviews would let individuals and organisations seek an expert independent review of specified civil aviation regulatory decisions made by, or on behalf of, the Director of Civil Aviation.

Application fees for reviews have been set at $1000 for individuals and $1500 for any other cases. Those amounts excluded GST.

“In comparison, I’ve heard that it can cost in excess of $300,000 to take an appeal through the District Court and it can take three to four years before there is a hearing,” Meager said.

“Today we are making it easier and more affordable for New Zealanders to challenge decisions that have a significant impact on their livelihoods, such as cancelling or suspending a pilot’s licence,” he added.

“Being able to have decisions reviewed independently will now mean those people won’t incur these costs and delays, and they’ll have the opportunity for a quick, cost-effective determination so they can get on with delivering growth for New Zealand.”

Meager said relevant scenarios included granting or suspending pilot licences, air operator certificates, airworthiness certificates or maintenance engineer’s licences.

“It will also include decisions on individual exemptions from civil aviation regulations or rules.”

These changes were set out in the Civil Aviation (Independent Review Function) Regulations 2025.

Reviewers will report their recommendations to the Director of Civil Aviation.

But the final decision will still be with the director.

“This is to ensure that the director retains the ultimate responsibility for the safe and secure operation of the civil aviation system,” Meager said.

The current director of Civil Aviation is Keith Manch, the Civil Aviation Authority chief executive.

As of mid-2023, New Zealand had 35,095 individual aviation document holders, of whom 30,061 were individual pilot licence holders, according to the Ministry of Transport.

Reviewable decisions in the new system include:

• Declining to register an aircraft.
• Granting, issuing, revoking or suspending a pilot’s licence, air operator’s certificate, airworthiness certificate or maintenance engineer’s licence.
• Amending a New Zealand air operator’s certificate with Australia New Zealand Aviation privileges or withdrawing those privileges.
• A decision on the granting of individual exemptions from civil aviation regulations or rules.