Families allege coercion over financial disclosures, Air India denies claim

Families of AI171 crash victims allege Air India coerced them into signing financial disclosure forms for interim compensation; airline denies claim, says process ensures rightful payout

Air India has denied claims that it coerced families of the June 12 Flight AI171 crash victims into prematurely signing legal documents related to compensation. The airline labelled the accusations as “unsubstantiated and inaccurate”.

 

The controversy arose after bereaved families accused the airline of pressuring them during the compensation process. In its defence, Air India clarified that the forms circulated among next of kin were solely for the purpose of verifying familial relationships, to ensure that interim payments reached the appropriate recipients. 

 

"In order to facilitate payments, Air India has sought basic information to establish family relationships to ensure that the advance payments are received by those entitled to them. Whilst the questionnaire does ask family members to indicate with a 'yes' or 'no' as to whether they are 'financially dependent' on the deceased, Air India believes this is an entirely fair and necessary question in order for us to process payments to those most in need of assistance," the airline said in its official statement.