ČSA Flight 540 was a regular international service from Prague to Tehran via Damascus and Baghdad. The flight, operated by Ilyushin Il-62 Brno Trade Fair, was on approach to runway 23R at Damascus International Airport on 20 August 1975, descending in clear weather, when it crashed 17 km (11 mi) from the airport. The aircraft broke up and caught fire on impact; 126 of the 128 passengers and crew on board died in the accident in Syria's worst ever air disaster, also the worst air disaster for the airline.

Damascus International Airport is the international airport of Damascus, the capital of Syria. Inaugurated in the mid-1970s, it also was the country's busiest airport. In 2010, an estimated 5.5 million passengers used the airport, an increase of more than 50% since 2004. But it has the issue of the civil war ending many flights to Damascus cutting off the population of the city from many international flights.