Netanyahu Flies Over Canada on Way to Washington

Flight trackers indicate that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu traveled hundreds of kilometres through Canadian airspace while heading to meet U. S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday – even though Prime Minister Mark Carney had earlier stated he would respect an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The ICC is seeking Netanyahu for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Carney was asked last October by Bloomberg if “Netanyahu would be arrested if he came to Canada.”

The prime minister answered “yes” twice.

Netanyahu’s flight can be seen entering Canadian airspace and crossing Newfoundland, the first of three provinces it overflew. (Flight Radar24)

This marks the second time in two months that Netanyahu’s official aircraft has flown through Canadian territory.

On December 29, his Boeing 767, dubbed the Wing of Zion, flew over Newfoundland and Nova Scotia before landing in Florida, where he met Trump at Mar-A-Lago.

When asked for clarification regarding that flight, Global Affairs Canada spokesperson Samantha Lafleur mentioned that they “do not comment on which route a foreign state chooses to take. For security reasons, we are unable to provide further details.”

Flight crosses 3 provinces

On Tuesday, Netanyahu’s plane passed over Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick before entering U. S. airspace in Maine.

The protocol in Canada requires foreign government flights to request permission well ahead of entering its airspace.

“Applications for foreign state, military or scientific aircraft to operate within Canadian territory should be submitted at least three working days (72h) before the proposed date of entry into Canadian airspace,” says the government’s website. “This advance notification is critical.”

has reached out to Global Affairs regarding whether Israel requested permission for this latest flight but had not received a response by publication time.

Since Trump’s second inauguration, Netanyahu has flown to the U. S. seven times.

During these trips, his flying patterns have changed noticeably as it appears he’s less concerned about potential arrest risks now.

Diving back into past flights: when he went to the U. S. on September 25, 2025, Wing of Zion took several detours while crossing the Mediterranean mainly staying over water before entering the Atlantic via Gibraltar Strait.

When Netanyahu flew to New York last September, his jet made multiple maneuvers primarily over water avoiding certain countries’ airspace such as Spain. (Flight Radar24)

This added approximately 400 kilometres compared to a standard journey from Tel Aviv to New York.

Since then however, he’s opted for more direct routes across Europe. While continuing his avoidance of Spain’s airspace, he also bypassed Slovenia after leaving Hungary.

The Spanish government led by Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has been notably critical of Israel’s actions in Gaza and stated it will enforce ICC warrants. Slovenia has shown strong support for ICC efforts and barred Netanyahu from entering its territory right after one of his flights across Europe.

Despite these hurdles though, he’s traveled through several European nations that signed onto the Rome Statute (the treaty establishing ICC), including France, Italy and Greece.

An official statement indicates only France confirmed granting him permission for these travels.

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