Crash victims’ relatives may sue AI Express

Relatives of victims of the Air India Express crash say they might file a case in the UAE against the airline for not following the Montreal Convention.

In a press conference in Dubai on Wednesday, representatives of families of the victims said five months after the crash many of them have not even received a call from the commission authorised to take up the issue of compensation.

They alleged that the negotiators were bargaining with the relatives and bringing down the compensation amount in selected cases.

“While they are legally supposed to pay us a minimum of Rs7.6 million, according to the Montreal Convention, families are being offered between Rs2.5m and Rs4.5m,” said Abdul Rahman, who lost his wife and children in the crash.

The accident on May 22 near Mangalore killed 158 passengers flying from Dubai.

“The Montreal Convention authorises the families to file a case at the place where the tickets were booked. We are going to explore that option,” said Rahman.

Air India Express, which is owned by Air India, appointed Mullah and Mullah as the legal consultant who in turn appointed HD Nanavati to deal with the case.

Relatives said that it is shameful that the airline, which is supposed to compensate all families justly, is only interested in bargaining with them and saving money for the airline.

“Meanwhile, they have been earning interest on the amount meant for compensation,” said Abdul Wahi Kazi who lost his brother, sister-in-law and their children.
 
Rahman said: “It has been five months since the incident occurred. I have not received any call so far. Three times I called Nanavati. He asked us to submit the documents, which we did. But there has been no developments after that,” he said.

“Apart from the Rs7.6m as compensation, we have other claims that will amount to a total of Rs13m as compensation. But the airline is only interested in negotiating and bringing down the price,” said Umay Altaf, 22, who lost his father in the accident.

Altaf, who just completed his graduation, has been taking care of his mother and two brothers, one of whom is mentally challenged.

“Nanavati even had the audacity to ask me to come to Mumbai in order to treat my case as special. He has been visiting Mangalore once every month and has no time to do his job,” said Altaf.

“We have not received any support from the Indian Government, except for the little we got during the first few days after of the accident. This is the worst way to handle the situation,” said Santosh, who lost his wife and two children.

“I have visited India six times after the incident. I met Nanavati only once to collect the interim statement. The money that Nanavti has got is being used to gain interest. This is unfair. The money is not going to replace the dear ones we have lost,” he added.