Rs 18 lakh per dead passenger in advance payment
The Montreal Convention also mandates that airlines make advance payments to the victims’ families without delay to meet immediate financial needs, such as funeral costs or temporary living expenses.
These advance payments must be no less than 16,000 SDRs, or approximately Rs 18 lakh per passenger, and are required to be issued promptly, even before the official investigation concludes.
Dreamliner would have cost up Rs 1450 crore
Beyond the human tragedy, the crash also represents a significant material loss for Air India. The aircraft involved—a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner—was among the airline’s primary assets used for long-haul international operations.
The estimated cost of the aircraft at the time of acquisition ranged between $125 million and $175 million, or approximately Rs 1,040 crore to Rs 1,450 crore. Air India currently operates around 30 Dreamliners and has been flying this aircraft type since 2012.
“Incidents like the Air India flight crash can lead to a total loss, this means that the aircraft is completely destroyed, cannot be repaired, and has no salvageable parts. Estimated loss during such cases can go around $130 million — $80 million for the aircraft and $50 million for liabilities,” says Saurav Das, business head, Aviation Insurance, at Alliance Insurance Brokers.
The aircraft crashed into a medical college campus, causing additional fatalities on the ground. However, the Montreal Convention does not explicitly cover liability for third-party damage or injury on the ground. Such cases are typically governed by domestic tort law or other aviation-specific liability conventions, depending on jurisdiction.
