No pressure on families of crash victims to accept compensation: Air India
Two days before the first anniversary of the Air India Ahmedabad crash on June 12, 2025, Air India has responded to a letter from the
Two days before the first anniversary of the Air India Ahmedabad crash on June 12, 2025, Air India has responded to a letter from the daughter of former Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, who lost his life in the crash, accusing the airline of arm-twisting families to waive legal rights while accepting interim compensation. In its letter to Radhika Rupani, a copy of which was reviewed by The Hindu, Air India has denied applying pressure on any family or individual to accept full and final compensation within a fixed time frame. “Our offer of final compensation did not set out any timetable for acceptance. Families are entirely free to wait until the investigation report has been released, as some have chosen to do,” the airline said in its letter to the former Chief Minister’s daughter.
The final investigation report into the crash is awaited, with the government expected to release an interim report on the first anniversary of the crash. Earlier, Radhika Rupani wrote to Tata Sons chief N. Chandrasekaran, accusing the airline of asking families to “waive present and future claims” while receiving interim compensation. A total of 269 lives were lost in the crash, including 243 passengers onboard, as well as those who lost their lives on the ground when the plane crashed on the premises of a residential facility of a medical college. Air India said it had disbursed interim compensation to address the immediate financial needs of affected families while the more detailed process of assessing final compensation claims continued.
The airline said interim payments of ₹25 lakh (approximately £21,000) had been made to 96% of the families of the deceased, with the remaining cases pending largely due to incomplete documentation. In addition, 94% of those injured on the ground have received either interim compensation or a one-time full and final settlement, depending on the extent of their injuries and any loss of livelihood. Separately, the Tata Group-established AI-171 Memorial and Welfare Trust announced ex gratia assistance of ₹1 crore for the families of those who lost their lives in the accident. According to Air India, these payments have been disbursed to 91% of eligible families, with most of the remaining cases awaiting completion of documentation and other procedural requirements.
Belongings returned The airline said it has catalogued and preserved more than 22,000 personal belongings recovered from the crash site, working with an external specialist to document and return items to families. Of the belongings linked to 187 deceased passengers, items belonging to 139 have been returned in India and the U.K. The remaining cases largely involve incomplete documentation or families declining to accept the belongings. The airline also recovered 25 digital devices, all of which underwent mandatory screening by Indian authorities, with 16 subsequently returned to families.
The BriefWire