Air India denies putting pressure on families of AI-171 Boeing crash victims

Debris of Air India Flight AI171 seen at the crash site, in Ahmedabad on June 12, 2025. (IANS File Photo)

New Delhi, (IANS): Air India has denied that families of victims of the AI-171 Boeing crash in Ahmedabad, which occurred on June 12, 2025, are being pressured to sign legal waivers in exchange for compensation.

The Tata Group airline said that there is "absolutely no deadline or pressure" on anyone to accept its final settlement offer.

Gujarat's former Chief Minister Vijay Rupani's daughter had alleged that the airline was exerting pressure on the families of the crash victims to sign legal waivers for getting compensation. The former Chief Minister of Gujarat was among the 260 victims who were killed in the crash, which took place merely seconds after the plane's take-off from the Ahmedabad airport.

In a statement issued in response to concerns raised by some families, Air India said relatives are free to wait for the official investigation findings before deciding whether to accept compensation.

With most of the interim payments having been disbursed, Air India has begun the process for final compensation and is engaging with families. Families or individuals have absolutely no deadline or pressure to accept our offer within a set timeframe, the statement said.

The airline also said that the wording in its Receipt, Discharge & Indemnity (RDI) document is intended only to ensure that compensation settlements remain final and to protect the airline from future claims, not to shield manufacturers or other third parties from potential legal liability.

Air India said in a statement that it has provided an interim payment of Rs 25 lakh (21,000 GBP) each to the families of the deceased to help address immediate financial needs.

Interim compensation has been paid to families of 96 per cent of the deceased. The remaining cases are primarily those where documentation is incomplete or where there are ongoing family disputes. Also, 94 per cent of those who were injured on the ground have either got one time full and final compensation or interim compensation, based on the nature of injury incurred and any loss of livelihood. The remaining individuals collected a form from the helpdesk after the crash, but have since not submitted it, the airline said.Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran had announced ex gratia financial assistance of Rs 1 crore for families of all the deceased as part of Tata Group’s philanthropic commitments - a measure that goes beyond legal compensation requirements. Ex gratia payments of Rs 1 crore have been disbursed to 91 per cent of the families of the deceased, with the remaining cases primarily constituting situations in which documentation is incomplete or where families have declined to accept payment, the statement added. Air India denies putting pressure on families of AI-171 Boeing crash victims | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

Read More........ → June 12, 2026

Delta Airlines Treats Teens to Free ‘Dream Flights’ Inspiring Many to Become Pilots and Engineers

Delta’s 24th Dream Flight – credit, Delta Airlines

Every year, Delta Airlines hosts a special, one-of-a-kind trip to place the heads of ambitious Black students squarely in the clouds.

Climbing aboard a Boeing 757 as it took off from Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, 100 local teens were the latest passengers on Delta’s “Dream Flights” program, a give-back initiative that introduces students to the concept of a career in aerospace and aviation.

Organized in partnership with the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals (OBAP), the concept goes right back to that famous quote Whoopi Goldberg said when she saw Lieutenant Uhuru in Star Trek: “I just saw a black woman on TV and she ain’t no maid!”

“When I met my first Black pilot, that’s when I realized I could do it too,” said Delta captain Justin Mutawassim. “Now, I get to show these students—especially Hayden—that they can follow that same path.”

17-year-old Hayden Lynch has Mutawassim as a program mentor, and years before he stepped onboard Delta flight 2025, he became smitten with aviation after receiving a drone for Christmas.

At the helm was First Officer Dana Nelson, Delta’s first Black woman pilot, hired in 2001. The theme continued with an all-black cabin crew and co-pilot Lyob Makonnen.

This year, their final destination was NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Florida’s “Space Coast.” Once there, the students wandered around with necks craned to see towards the ceiling to gaze at the collection of historic rockets, shuttles, and simulators used in NASA missions past. The trip finished with a panel discussion hosted by OBAP aviators and astronauts on how to navigate turbulence, whether in the cockpit, or in life.

This year was the 25th edition of Delta’s Dream Flight. They’ve transported and inspired more than 4,000 students throughout that time.

Many of these, CBS News reports, have followed their dreams born on the flight to careers as pilots, in aviation engineering, and in aerospace at large.“My dream is to become a Delta pilot one day—and inspire others just like they inspired me,” Hayden told CBS. Delta Airlines Treats Teens to Free ‘Dream Flights’ Inspiring Many to Become Pilots and Engineers

Read More........ → December 10, 2025

Over 2,000 flights cancelled across US as federal govt shutdown enters day 40

Representational photo. (IANS Photo)

Washington, (IANS): As the US federal government shutdown entered its 40th day, more than 2,000 flights were cancelled and over 8,000 delayed nationwide, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.

Since the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) mandated flight reduction policy took effect on Friday, the number of canceled flights surged from 202 on Thursday to 1,025 on Friday, and further to 1,566 on Saturday, Xinha news agency reported.

The number of air traffic controllers taking leave has risen since the shutdown began on October 1, forcing many others to work overtime.

The US Department of Transportation and the FAA recently announced a 10 per cent capacity reduction at 40 major airports across the country starting Friday, aiming to ease staffing pressures and reduce airspace safety risks.

"It's only going to get worse," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told CNN on Sunday. "I look to the two weeks before Thanksgiving. You're going to see air travel be reduced to a trickle."

On the same day, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told CBS that if people are not traveling during Thanksgiving, "we really could be looking at a negative quarter for the fourth quarter."

The regular budget, which should have been ready on October 1, marks the start of the US fiscal year. Instead, it is snaggled in party polarisation. A temporary measure known as a “continuing resolution” is needed to finance the government for now.

That resolution has been held up in the Senate due to a procedural element known as the filibuster, which blocks a legislative measure from coming up for a vote.

Sixty votes are required to break it, instead of a simple majority, as a way of putting the brakes on a party with a majority running roughshod.The Republicans, with only 53 votes, are powerless to break the filibuster and pass their version of the temporary funding resolution.Over 2,000 flights cancelled across US as federal govt shutdown enters day 40 | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

Read More........ → November 18, 2025