The Supreme Court on Wednesday, October 18, issued notices to the Union government and Air India on a plea seeking enhancement of compensation paid to the kin of victims of the Karipur air crash in August 2020 involving the Air India Express Flight IC-1344. The petitioners said Air India, the parent company of the airline, failed to provide them compensation eligible to them as per the Montreal Convention of 1999 to which India is a signatory. The bench comprising Justice CV Ravikumar Sanjay Kumar issued the notices.
Air India and the kin of victims had already entered into a contract for payment of compensation ranging from 15 to 25 lakhs. As per the Montreal Convention, which underlines the rights of air passengers in the event of a mishap, carriers are liable to provide damages up to 128,821 Special Drawing Rights (SDR). The pleas sought a minimum compensation of one lakh SDR which would amount to around Rs 1.34 crore for each victim.
Air India claimed that since they had already reached an agreement with the relatives, they could not claim compensation as per the Montreal agreement. However, the Supreme Court rejected Air India’s demand.
The tragic incident happened on August 7, 2020. The Air India Express Flight 1344 was traveling from Dubai to Karipur in Kozhikode with 191 passengers. The aircraft nosedived after overrunning the runway at Karipur airport killing 19 persons and injuring 168 people.