Indian airline plans heavy compensation for families of plane crash victims

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Families of victims of crashed Indian plane would be heavily compensated by the authorities of the airline.

Indeed, Air India’s parent company Tata Group announced a compensation of INR 10 million (around $116,000) for the families of each person who lost their life in the crash.

The company also pledged support in repairing the medical hostel where the plane crashed.

While this is among the highest compensations announced in India, it is still short of the obligation listed under the Montreal Convention – around INR 14 million per passenger.

In the vein, Air India organized relief flights from Delhi and Mumbai to Ahmedabad for the next of kin of passengers and Air India staff.

The airline also sent a team of caregivers and engineers to the city to assist local authorities in investigation and provide support to family members.

After Air India Flight AI171 crashed minutes after takeoff in Ahmedabad on Thursday, the airline had confirmed the tragedy on X about 50 minutes later.

Since then, it has posted two video messages from CEO Campbell Wilson, set up help centers and helplines, and provided regular updates as the situation unfolds. The airline’s communication on X has been important in countering any misinformation.

In the early hours of Friday, Air India confirmed that the total number of passenger and crew fatalities in the crash was 241 out of 242 onboard, with the sole survivor undergoing treatment.

In particular, soon after confirming the crash, Air India set up a dedicated passenger hotline number to provide more information. In the following hours, it added another hotline for foreign nationals.

On Friday, the airline set up Friends & Relatives Assistance Centers at the Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Delhi, and Gatwick airports to support the families of passengers on the flight.

These centers were set up to facilitate the travel of victims’ family members to Ahmedabad.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled: Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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