On 17 July 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was brought down over southeast Ukraine. All 298 passengers and crew, including 196 Dutch nationals, lost their lives. The Dutch government subsequently asked the Netherlands Court of Audit to assess the cost of the disaster to the government. On 25 November 2025, the Court of Audit sent an updated cost assessment to the House of Representatives and the government. The cost increased in 2024 from €199 million to more than €209 million.
The Court published earlier cost assessments in February 2024 and November 2024.
Cost of legal proceedings, commemoration and archiving
The increase in the cost assessment from the previous year of more than €11.2 million is due, among other factors, to international legal proceedings and diplomacy, criminal prosecution and identification. Costs were also incurred in 2024 for the compensation paid to the next of kin, memorial services and miscellaneous costs for training courses on flights over conflict zones, archiving and safekeeping, and the operation of IT systems. As in previous years, costs were incurred for the management and maintenance of the National MH17 Monument. Indexation for inflation also increased the aggregate cost to the government.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs incurred costs for proceedings at the UN International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in Montreal, Canada. In May 2025 the ICAO Council ruled in the case brought by the Netherlands and Australia that the Russian Federation had violated the Chicago Convention. Russia has appealed to the International Court of Justice in The Hague against the ruling.
The assessment of costs incurred since the Flight MH17 disaster does not include costs incurred by individuals and businesses. The suffering endured by the families of those killed in the disaster cannot be expressed in money.
Cost to the Netherlands government of the Flight MH17 disaster: additional €11.2 million since 2023
The figure presents an update of the assessed cost to the Netherlands government of the Flight MH17 disaster. Its title is, Cost to the Netherlands government of the Flight MH17 disaster: additional €11.2 million since 2023 (€209.8 million in total). The figure has 3 columns. The first column is named ‘the disaster’ and shows the cost of crisis management (€8.6 million), repatriation (€22.6 million) and identification (€9.7 million, an increase of €0.7 million on 2023). The second column, ‘the facts’, presents the cost of accident investigation (€53.9 million, an increase of €1 million on 2023) and criminal prosecution and trial (€56.1 million, an increase of €2.1 million on 2023). The third column, ‘the consequences’, includes the cost of commemoration (€9.2 million, an increase of €0.6 million on 2023), international proceedings and diplomacy (€7.7 million, an increase of €1 million on 2023), support for the next of kin(€0.8 million), other costs (€2.43 million, an increase of €0.1 million on 2023) and indexation (€38.8 million, an increase of €6.6 million on 2023).
Assessment is part of the State’s application for compensation
The government is using the cost assessment in the legal proceedings at the ICAO. The Court of Audit will continue to update its assessment until the government submits its final application. The government is still in talks with Australia to determine whether a joint application should be submitted; many Australians were also killed in the disaster.
The updated assessment has been sent to the ministers concerned and to the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Court has also informed the MH17 Air Disaster Foundation established by the next of kin.
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