Kozhikode: Air India has offered final compensation to the next of kin of 19 passengers who died in an accident at Kozhikode airport last year and to 165 passengers who were injured.
According to Air India, 80 of the 165 injured in the accident have accepted the offer. The company said it was waiting for a response from the relatives of the remaining 85 injured and 19 of the dead.
The Air India flight from Dubai crashed on August 7, 2020, while trying to land in heavy rain.
At least 19 passengers and two pilots have died and 165 passengers and four crew members are injured in the accident.
Earlier, interim compensation of Rs 10 lakh was paid to the next of kin of passengers above 12 years of age, Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of passengers below 12 years of age, Rs 2 lakh to seriously injured passengers, and Rs 50,000 to injured passengers.
The spokesman added that the airline had offered compensation to each of the injured passengers between November 2020 and April 2021 and the next of kin of the dead pilots.
The airline had started holding one-to-one meetings in Kozhikode to resolve the concerns and doubts of the injured passengers and their close relatives regarding the offer of compensation. As of August 6, 138 such meetings had taken place.
An Air India spokesperson said full and final compensation had been offered to the four injured cabin crew members and close relatives of the two dead pilots and had been accepted.
Five days after the crash, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Board (AAIB) formed a five-member panel to investigate the circumstances of the crash, but the panel has not yet submitted a report.
