Monday, August 08, 2022

Kozhikode: Air India Express completes payout to victims

Air India Express has completed the settlement of compensations for passengers and crew who were on board the flight (IX 1344), which crashed on landing at Calicut International Airport on August 7, 2020.

According to sources with Air India Express, 165 injured passengers, four crew members, kin of 19 deceased passengers and two deceased pilots have been compensated within two years of the crash. "The process adopted by the airline includes a Kozhikode-based helpdesk, which is still live. All communications were through WhatsApp. Usually, documents are sought through email or post. We eased the process by accepting the documents through WhatsApp to avoid delays," said an airline official.

All passengers were given a contact person to coordinate the compensation process, the official said. "We were with the passengers through every step. We accepted consultations with private hospitals too. Their treating doctors certified whether the injuries were grievous or non-grievous. The amount was decided based on their treating doctors' report. We didn't set up a medical board to examine them, thus easing the process," he added.

Top management of the company had camped in Karipur to coordinate the process. Besides the compensation, the airline handled the hospital and travel expenses relating to the process, the official added. "Airline had handled the transportation cost for the passenger and bystander for travelling to hospitals. Also, out of pocket expenditure, including rent for staying near hospitals, were handled on humanitarian ground," said the source.

The survivors of the crash at Calicut International Airport had decided to pool money from the funds they have received as compensation to build a new hospital building for the local bravehearts of Kondotty who fought heavy rains and disregarded the Covid pandemic scare to rush the injured passengers from the flight wreckage to nearby hospitals.

07/08/22 Times of India

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

0 comments:

Post a Comment