Canada’s Response to the Downing of Flight PS752

Location: National

Key Messages:

  • Our thoughts continue to be with those affected by the tragic downing of Flight PS752. All 176 people aboard the flight were killed, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.
  • Ensuring the safety and security of Canadians travelling by air is a priority of Transport Canada. This includes ensuring risks are properly mitigated when it comes to flight operations near conflict zones. 
  • Through the Safer Skies Initiative, Canada is pursuing efforts to enhance the safety of civilian aircraft travelling in or near conflict zones.
  • Canada also continues to advocate for enhancing the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) air accident investigation protocols, to make investigations more transparent and trustworthy.
  • The Government of Canada continues to seek accountability, transparency, and justice from Iran, in collaboration with the other affected States in the Coordination Group. Our commitment to this work was further demonstrated by the recent legal action taken through the International Court of Justice.

Summary of Issue / Background:

  • On January 8, 2020, Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 to Kyiv was downed by Iran’s air defence less than four minutes after taking off from Imam Khomeini International Airport in Tehran. All 176 people aboard the flight were killed, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents.
  • In response, Transport Canada acted swiftly to engage international partners and lead global efforts to mitigate risks to civil aviation posed by conflict zones.
  • On February 14, 2020, the Prime Minister announced Canada’s Safer Skies Initiative, to bring together key partners including countries, airlines, and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to improve safety and airspace management around conflict zones.
  • Transport Canada hosted the inaugural Safer Skies Forum in December 2020. Subsequent Forums were held in March 2022, which brought together 365 subject-matter experts representing all regions of the world, and in June 2023, which Canada co-hosted alongside the Netherlands.
  • In accordance with ICAO’s international air accident investigation regime (i.e., Annex 13 to the Chicago Convention), Iran – as the State of Occurrence – was entitled to lead the technical safety investigation. On March 17, 2021, Iran released its Final Accident Investigation Report into the downing of Flight PS752. Canada’s subsequent statement at ICAO noted that Iran’s report makes no attempt to answer critical questions about what truly happened, is incomplete and is missing key facts and evidence.
  • On June 24, 2021, Canada’s Forensic Examination and Analysis Team released its final report into the downing of Flight PS752. The report concluded that Iranian civilian and military authorities, through their actions and omissions, are directly responsible for the downing of Flight PS752.
  • Transport Canada is committed to enhancing the transparency and credibility of air accident investigations and to adapting Annex 13 to the context of an aircraft downing, including to better address the conflict of interest in which the State of Occurrence is placed. At the 41st ICAO Assembly, Canada gathered support from 60 countries for its Annex 13 working paper, which requested the prioritization of ongoing work at ICAO to adapt Annex 13 in the context of an aircraft downing.
  • The Government of Canada continues to work with its partners in the Coordination Group – including Sweden, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom – to hold Iran accountable for the downing of Flight PS752.
  • On December 28, 2022, the Coordination Group requested that Iran submit to binding arbitration in relation to the Group’s claim pursuant to the 1971 Montreal Convention. This marked a key step forward in the pursuit of accountability in accordance with international law.
  • Iran failed to respond to the Coordination Group’s request for arbitration. On July 5, 2023, the Coordination Group announced it filed a joint application with the International Court of Justice instituting proceedings against Iran in relation to its breaches of the 1971 Montreal Convention.