Air New Zealand says a Privy Council decision ordering the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry to pay back about $3 million shows the need to retain the right of final appeal to the British court.
The decision, given yesterday, means MAF must partly repay the levies it chargedAir New Zealand-owned Freedom Air and Hamilton and Palmerston North airports for border control services.
The exact amount to be repaid has not been established, but Air New Zealand says it is about $3 million.
The Government is planning to replace the Privy Council with a New Zealand Supreme Court as the final court of appeal.
Air New Zealand general counsel John Blair said the case showed the need for access to the British court.
"It has shown an excellent grasp of New Zealand issues in dealing with its decision," he said.
"And it took, obviously, a significantly different view of the law than the Court of Appeal had taken."
The case was first taken to the High Court, after Freedom Air and Hamilton and Palmerston North airports decided to challenge MAF's policy of charging regional international airports for border control services.
MAF provides border control services free at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch international airports.
The High Court decision in 2001 supported Freedom Air and the airport companies, and ordered partial restitution of fees paid.
But last year the Court of Appeal overturned the decision, ruling that regional airports must pay the levies.
Yesterday's Privy Council decision restores the High Court ruling and orders MAF to pay costs.
Waikato Regional Airport chief executive Hugh McCarroll said he was delighted with the decision.
"The money is less important than the fact that our position has been vindicated."
MAF spokesman Brett Sangster said the Ministry was working with legal and financial advisers to implement the Privy Council's decision.
He said decisions about how future border control costs would be paid was a matter for the Government to decide.
A spokeswoman for Biosecurity Minister Jim Sutton said the Government was considering the decision.
