US urged to use 'Sully' to help Canada, allies get PS752 compensation from Iran
Canada and its allies are being urged to aggressively reach into the Iranian government's pocket to find untapped sources of assets to compensate for the regime's downing of a commercial airliner two years ago. That includes a call to use US President Joe Biden's new high-profile ambassador to the world's international aviation watchdog -- Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot who heroically landed a plane on water outside New York City more than a decade ago -- to spearhead that effort. At issue is how to compensate families and loved ones of the Jan. 8, 2020 tragedy that saw Iran's Revolutionary Guard shoot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 shortly after it took off from Tehran airport. All 176 people on board were killed, the majority with links to Canada, along with nationals of Britain, Sweden, Afghanistan and Ukraine. The Washington-based Foundation for Defence of Democracies says the US should target the money Iran collects from international airlines for using its airspace for overflights. The foundation says Sullenberger has a part to play in his new role as the newly appointed American representative to the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization. Toby Dershowitz, the foundation's senior vice president on government relations, said Iran lost about $96m in overflight revenue in 2020, a 50% decline over the previous year due to a decrease in flights because of PS752 and the COVID-19 pandemic. "Further targeting overflights through a coordinated ban, therefore, presents an additional path forward to induce Iran to take full responsibility for the PS752 downing," she said Sunday.<br/>
https://portal.staralliance.com/cms/news/hot-topics/2022-01-10/unaligned/us-urged-to-use-sully-to-help-canada-allies-get-ps752-compensation-from-iran
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US urged to use 'Sully' to help Canada, allies get PS752 compensation from Iran
Canada and its allies are being urged to aggressively reach into the Iranian government's pocket to find untapped sources of assets to compensate for the regime's downing of a commercial airliner two years ago. That includes a call to use US President Joe Biden's new high-profile ambassador to the world's international aviation watchdog -- Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, the pilot who heroically landed a plane on water outside New York City more than a decade ago -- to spearhead that effort. At issue is how to compensate families and loved ones of the Jan. 8, 2020 tragedy that saw Iran's Revolutionary Guard shoot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 shortly after it took off from Tehran airport. All 176 people on board were killed, the majority with links to Canada, along with nationals of Britain, Sweden, Afghanistan and Ukraine. The Washington-based Foundation for Defence of Democracies says the US should target the money Iran collects from international airlines for using its airspace for overflights. The foundation says Sullenberger has a part to play in his new role as the newly appointed American representative to the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization. Toby Dershowitz, the foundation's senior vice president on government relations, said Iran lost about $96m in overflight revenue in 2020, a 50% decline over the previous year due to a decrease in flights because of PS752 and the COVID-19 pandemic. "Further targeting overflights through a coordinated ban, therefore, presents an additional path forward to induce Iran to take full responsibility for the PS752 downing," she said Sunday.<br/>
