Canada’s Federal Court Keeps a Seized Russian Antonov An-124 Grounded at Toronto Pearson

In a decision reported by The Canadian Press on August 13, 2026, Canada’s Federal Court rejected a bid by Russian cargo carrier Volga-Dnepr Airlines to overturn the sanctions keeping its Antonov An-124 grounded at Toronto Pearson International Airport, where the aircraft has now sat for more than four years.

What the court decided

Volga-Dnepr, Russia’s largest air cargo carrier, argued it had refused to carry military cargo since 2018 and was not complicit in Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine. The airline said Canada’s foreign affairs minister ignored evidence it submitted with its application to be removed from the sanctions list.

The judge disagreed, ruling that the airline “has not demonstrated the decision was unreasonable or lacked procedural fairness.” Global Affairs Canada told the court Volga-Dnepr “played a critical role in supporting the efforts of the Russian regime to bypass sanctions imposed by Canada and its allies to obtain goods that are sanctioned or can be used in sensitive or military related sectors,” according to a government memo cited by Narcity.

Three separate legal fights over one airplane

This ruling only settles whether Volga-Dnepr stays on Canada’s sanctions list, which is a different question from whether the aircraft itself is ever handed over. Canada grounded the An-124 on February 27, 2022, when it closed its airspace to Russian-owned aircraft, then formally seized it on June 8, 2023.

A third, separate process, forfeiture, began in March 2025 and is the one that would actually transfer ownership of the aircraft to the Canadian government, according to Aviation A2Z. Canada has said that if forfeiture succeeds, it could work with Ukraine on using the aircraft or its value for reconstruction.

Why this particular aircraft matters

The grounded jet, registration RA-82078, is an Antonov An-124, one of the largest mass-produced cargo aircraft ever built at roughly 225 feet (69 m) long with a 240-foot (73 m) wingspan. Only a handful of operators worldwide fly the type, and most of the remaining fleet belongs to Russian and Ukrainian carriers whose aircraft have themselves become instruments of the war, from sanctioned Russian operators grounded abroad to Ukrainian examples targeted on the ground.

Volga-Dnepr is not the only Russia-linked aviation business Canada and its allies have targeted since 2022. Sanctions campaigns have also reached the sales agents that keep Iran’s Mahan Air selling seats and cargo space, part of a broader pattern of pressuring the networks that keep sanctioned carriers flying rather than just the airlines themselves.

Volga-Dnepr is pursuing international arbitration seeking at least $100 million in compensation or the aircraft’s return, Aviation A2Z reported. No hearing date for that claim has been made public.