Most families affected by the AI171 air crash have now received interim financial assistance, with Air India saying it has started the process of final compensation while continuing to return personal belongings and provide support services to relatives of the victims.
The airline said it has paid an interim compensation of ₹25 lakh each to the families of 96% of those who lost their lives in the accident. The remaining cases are largely awaiting completion of documentation or are affected by family-related legal issues. Air India added that there is no deadline for families to accept its compensation offers.
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The update comes ahead of the June 12 anniversary of the AI171 crash, one of India's worst aviation disasters in recent decades. The London Gatwick-bound Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people, including passengers, crew and people on the ground. Only one person survived the accident, which was also the first fatal crash involving Boeing's 787 Dreamliner since the aircraft entered commercial service.
The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is continuing its probe into the crash, with investigators examining cockpit voice recordings, flight data and aircraft systems to determine the cause of the accident. While preliminary findings have been released, a final investigation report is still awaited.
The process has also moved forward for those injured on the ground. According to the airline, 94% of such individuals have either received full and final compensation or interim financial assistance, depending on the extent of injuries and loss of livelihood. A small number of cases remain pending as claim forms have not yet been submitted.
Alongside the statutory compensation process, the Tata Group's AI171 Memorial and Welfare Trust has disbursed the ₹1 crore ex-gratia assistance announced by Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran to 91% of the families of the deceased. The company said pending cases are primarily linked to incomplete paperwork or situations where families have chosen not to accept the payment.
Air India also provided an update on the return of personal belongings recovered from the crash site. More than 22,000 items were preserved, catalogued and documented with the help of an external specialist agency, with families being informed through email and a dedicated online platform.
The Tata-run airline said belongings associated with 139 of the 187 deceased have already been returned to families in India and the UK. In cases where items could not be conclusively linked to an individual, relatives were given access to an interactive portal to identify them. Personal belongings relating to 60 of 77 such cases have been handed over, while 15 families have declined to receive the recovered items.
Of the 25 digital devices recovered from the site, 16 have been returned after mandatory examination by Indian authorities. The remaining cases are pending due to documentation issues or because families have opted not to claim them.
Air India said more than 500 volunteers from 17 Tata Group companies, including 130 airline employees, were mobilised to support affected families in the aftermath of the accident. Each family was assigned a dedicated caregiver to assist with DNA identification procedures, travel arrangements and funeral-related formalities.
A single-window helpdesk set up in Ahmedabad on June 15 to help families with legal, insurance and financial procedures remained operational for more than two months. According to the airline, senior leaders from Tata Group companies have also met 152 of the 165 affected families in India and the UK to offer support and condolences.
With the final investigation report still pending, the airline's latest disclosure is the mere publicly available update on compensation, ex-gratia payments and the return of personal belongings to families affected by the crash.
