Ahmedabad plane crash: Air India committed to providing full, unstinting assistance, says Campbell Wilson

Indian Express

16 hours ago

Air India is committed to providing 'full and unstinting assistance' said Campbell Wilson, the Managing Director & CEO of Air India, who visited the June 12 crash site of AI-171 Boeing Dreamliner flight in Ahmedabad on Friday, while asserting that they will 'do everything we can' for those affected by the tragedy and also 'uphold the trust' placed in them.
Wilson made these remarks on Friday in a video message post on X.
Stating that Air India had deployed more caregivers and engineers to assist in relief work and investigation, Campbell said, 'I am sharing this message from Ahmedabad, where the Air India flight AI-171 crashed shortly after take off yesterday (Thursday). Tragically, since my first briefing, we have confirmed that 241 of the 242 passengers and crew have perished in the incident. All of us at Air India are devastated by this loss and grieve for those affected, their families and their loved ones. Air India's advanced team of nearly 100 caregivers and 40 engineering staff has now arrived in Ahmedabad. The technical team is now helping at the site and our caregivers are providing support to families.'
He added, 'Many more caregivers are travelling to Ahmedabad to provide further support. We have set up Friends and Relatives Assistance Centres at Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi and London Gatwick airports for the next of kin of our passengers and crew members. These centres are facilitating their travel to Ahmedabad and providing them full support.'
'The Tata Group, our parent company, has announced that they will provide Rs 1 crore or approximately 85,000 British Pounds to the families of each person who lost their life and will cover the medical expenses of those injured,' Campbell said.
Sharing a thought for the medical students, who were injured on the premises of the BJ Medical College hostel mess, Atulyam, Campbell said, 'We are also deeply concerned for the well-being of the medical students …involved in the accident. Air India is committed to providing full and unstinting assistance in these difficult times. This morning I visited the crash site and was deeply moved by the scenes. I also met key stakeholders in the government and assured them that Air India is committed to full cooperation with those working on the ground and to the investigations.'
He added, 'We know that the investigations will take time, but we will be fully transparent and will support the process for as long as it takes. Air India will continue to do everything we can to care for those affected by this tragedy and to uphold the trust placed in us.'
Meanwhile, Air India's flight AI-171 from Ahmedabad to Gatwick on Saturday — the first scheduled flight after the crash — has been cancelled, as per the status on flightradar24.com. The flight, scheduled to depart at 1.10 pm on Saturday — the third flight of the week — had been assigned a new aircraft before it was cancelled.