Air India Express offers final compensation for Kozhikode crash victims, next-of-kins

Air India Express has made final compensation offers to all 165 passengers involved in the flight accident at the Kozhikode International Airport last year. The budget airline said the compensation was offered to all the injured passengers and the next-of-kin of the 19 flyers who died in the crash. According to the airline, 80 out of the total 165 injured flyers have accepted the offers.

Final compensations offered after Kozhikode crash

Air India Express informed that, as of August 6, the compensation offers were taken up by 80 individuals. The airline is currently awaiting acceptance of the remaining 85 injured flyers and the next-of-kin of the 19 deceased passengers. "We have not received any rejection on the offers made from the injured passengers or the next-of-kin of the deceased. Also, no legal case has been filed on the offers made," the spokesperson of Air India Express told PTI.

Air India Express announced interim compensation soon after the accident. This included Rs 10 lakh to the next-of-kin of the deceased passengers of more than 12 years of age, Rs 5 lakh to the next-of-kin of the deceased passengers of less than 12 years of age, Rs 2 lakh for critically injured passengers and Rs 50,000 to the injured passengers. The Air India Express spokesperson also informed that the company had paid the interim compensation to all related individuals by September 2020. The spokesperson added that the airline gave the victims the claim forms to full and final compensation offers.

He added that the full-and-final compensation offers were made to each of the injured flyers and the next-of-kin of the deceased passengers by April 2021. "The airline started organising one-to-one meetings in Kozhikode to address the concerns or doubts of the injured passengers and the next-of-kin regarding the offers made. A total of 138 one-on-one meetings have taken place till August 6," he mentioned.

Dubai-Kozhikode plane crash

The Dubai-Kozhikode Air India Express flight 1344 crashed on the evening of August 7, 2020, with 190 passengers on board. At least 21 flyers, including both pilots people, lost their lives and many sustained severe injuries. According to the reports, the crash had taken place due to heavy rains. The plane was destroyed and broke into two parts.

The NDRF team was positioned at the site for rescue operations and the injured were rushed to nearby hospitals. Kerala CM Vijayan and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had discussed the tragic incident and the relief work. Five days after the Kozhikode crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) formed a five-member panel to inquire about the accident, for which the report is yet to be submitted.

IMAGE: PTI

INPUTS: PTI