Canadian Court Orders Ukrainian Airline to Pay Compensation to Victims of Iran Crash
The Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld the ruling that Ukrainian airline Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) is liable for the downing of flight PS752 in Tehran on 8 January 2020.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to the text of the court decision.
This decision means that UIA must now fully compensate all families of passengers who died as a result of the PS 752 crash on 8 January 2020.
The court found UIA negligent in failing to assess the risks associated with flying from Tehran.
This landmark decision has significant implications for the aviation industry, emphasising the need for airlines to exercise caution when flying in or near conflict zones.
It sends a clear signal that open airspace cannot be considered safe and calls on international airlines to exercise caution when operating flights.
Prior to this, in June 2024, the Ontario Superior Court ruled that Ukraine International Airlines must pay full compensation to the families of the victims who died when flight PS 752 was shot down over Tehran on 8 January 2020.
This decision was the result of an 18-day trial that ended in January 2024, where the court found UIA negligent for failing to properly assess the risks of operating the flight amid escalating military tensions in the region.
Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 crashed on 8 January 2020 near Tehran on its way to Kyiv.
A few days after the official objections, Iran admitted that a unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had accidentally shot down the plane amid escalating tensions with the United States over the killing of senior general Qasem Soleimani by an American drone near Baghdad.
Most of the victims were Iranian and Canadian, but 11 of them were Ukrainian citizens.
Ukraine, the United Kingdom, Canada and Sweden initiated arbitration proceedings over the downing of the passenger plane in late December 2022.
A lawsuit against Iran was filed with the International Civil Aviation Organisation in January 2024. In March 2025, Tehran attempted to challenge the jurisdiction of the ICAO, but its objection was rejected by the Organisation's Council.
In April 2025, Iran filed a lawsuit with the UN International Court of Justice against Canada, Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom in connection with the decision of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) to recognise jurisdiction in the case of Tehran's shooting down of the aircraft.