In an effort to reduce compensation payments, Air India on Friday strongly denied claims that it had forced families of the AI-171 crash victims to sign documents indicating their financial reliance on their departed loved ones. The airline characterised the charges as 'unsubstantiated and inaccurate' in a thorough official statement.
According to media reports, some bereaved families were allegedly under pressure to reveal financial connections to their departed loved ones in order to be compensated. This sparked the controversy. In response to these allegations, Air India explained that gathering this data was a standard procedure that was required to guarantee that interim (or advance) compensation was promptly disbursed to the legitimate recipients. "In an effort to reduce compensation payments, we have learnt of accusations against the company that families of the deceased in the AI-171 accident are being coerced into signing documents revealing their financial reliance on the deceased," the airline said in a statement.
The airline went on to say, "With the first payments having been made within days of the accident, the airline is working to process the payment of interim compensation (also known as advance compensation) as soon as possible to meet the immediate financial needs of affected family members." Air India, however, is unable to handle these payments without knowledge.
In order to guarantee that legitimate claimants received interim payments, Air India said it had asked for basic information to confirm family relationships. The airline insisted that the method was both reasonable and necessary for allocating financial aid to those who needed it the most, even though the questionnaire did ask respondents to indicate with a "yes" or "no" whether they were financially dependent on the deceased.
On June 15, the airline opened a Facilitation Centre at the Taj Skyline Hotel in Ahmedabad to help with this process. Family members were given access to the interim compensation questionnaire at this centre.
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Families were also told that if they would rather not visit the centre in person, they could access the same form by email. Air India stated that families were given an explanation of each section of the questionnaire by the center's staff and that they were under no obligation to complete it there. Many families chose to fill out the survey at their own pace and send it in electronically. Families who requested them were also given copies of the completed forms.
Air India stressed that families could ask questions of its representatives and seek legal advice. Additionally, it made clear that the forms family members filled out in hospitals or cemeteries had nothing to do with the compensation procedure and were mainly meant for official records.
The airline categorically refuted any allegations that its employees had gone to families' homes to force them to fill out the surveys. 47 families had already received interim compensation as of July 4. The remaining 55 people's documents had been verified, and their compensation was being processed in stages. In order to expedite the release of remaining payments, the airline stated that it was still in active communication with the families of other passengers who had died or their designated representatives.
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The statement said, "As a member of the Tata Group, the airline upholds core values of integrity and responsibility and remains committed to serving the community, especially during challenging times."
The Tata Group has announced a voluntary ex-gratia payment of ₹1 crore (roughly £85,000) to the families of each deceased person in addition to the compensation that Air India is legally required to provide. A dedicated trust with a corpus of ₹500 crore (approximately £43 million) is being established to oversee and distribute this voluntary aid and offer long-term support.
The airline stated that these voluntary efforts are in addition to any statutory compensation that may be due under the law and that "these families will forever be part of the Tata family." In its closing remarks, Air India advised the public to be wary of false information and to refrain from misinterpreting the details of the compensation procedure.
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