Air India pays interim compensation to families of 166 Ahmedabad crash victims
In a press statement released on Saturday, the airline stated that it had started releasing the interim compensation amount of ₹25 lakh to the affected families.
The airline had announced the interim payment to help families 'meet their immediate financial needs', which will be adjusted against the final compensation of ₹75 lakh.
'Air India has, so far, released the interim compensation to the families of 147 of the 229 deceased passengers and also the 19 who lost their lives at the accident site,' the airline said.
Meanwhile, Air India has also verified requisite documents of 52 other passengers, saying that the interim compensation to their families will be 'released progressively'.
Apart from this, the Tata Group also set up the 'AI-171 Memorial and Welfare Trust' for the victims of the crash, pledging an ex-gratia payment of ₹1 crore for the affected families of each of the deceased.
The trust will support the rebuilding of the infrastructure of the B J Medical College, where the plane crashed. It will also provide aid and assistance to help alleviate trauma or distress suffered by first responders, relief personnel, social workers and government staff who provided support in the aftermath of the incident.
Govt holds meetings with Air India amid safety concerns
The government has started holding direct talks with the management of Air India amid rising safety concerns, with the first such meeting happening on July 23.
The government has directed the carrier to maintain the highest safety standards, and has set up a month-long timeline to reassess its operations.
Earlier this week, an Air India flight arriving from Hong Kong caught fire at the Delhi airport after landing. Apart from this incident, a Kolkata-bound flight aborted takeoff owing to technical issues, and a Kochi-Mumbai flight swerved off from the runway during landing in heavy rain.
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