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Air India: No pressure on AI-171 families for final settlement
The Air India statement came after Radhika Mishra, daughter of former Gujarat chief minister Vijaybhai Rupani, raised concerns over the settlement terms
Air India on Wednesday said there is no deadline or pressure on the families of the AI-171 crash victims to accept final compensation offered by the airline, and passengers were “entirely free” to wait for the final investigation report before signing any Receipt, Discharge and Indemnity (RDI) document.
In a statement issued after Radhika Mishra, daughter of former Gujarat chief minister Vijaybhai Rupani, raised concerns over the settlement terms, the airline said the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau was independently conducting the probe and Air India was not aware of when the report will be released.
Rupani was among the 241 people killed on board when Air India Flight AI-171, operating from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed shortly after takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport on June 12, 2025. The crash also killed 19 people on the ground. One passenger survived.
In her letter on June 6, Mishra questioned why families were being asked to consider “full and final” settlements before the investigation was complete and flagged clauses that require families to waive future claims and indemnify multiple entities, including manufacturers and government-linked bodies.
She also noted that the RDI seeks to discharge not only Air India but also Boeing Company, General Electric Company, GE Aerospace, Safran S.A., Honeywell International Inc., the Union of India, Ahmedabad International Airport Limited, insurers, and other third parties whose roles in the accident have not yet been established.
“Why is there an effort to obtain final releases before the truth is known,” she asked. “We deserve more than compensation. We deserve answers, we deserve transparency and above all, we deserve closure.”
In its statement, Air India said the final compensation process began in October 2025, after most interim payments were completed.
“As such, we started our final compensation process in October 2025, once most interim compensation payments had been completed, by sending the claim forms out to families. Since then, we have been in dialogue with those families who have wished to engage with us,” the airline said. The October 2025 timeline means the final settlement process was initiated four months after the crash.
On the indemnity clause, the airline said the wording follows standard industry practice in India and internationally. It said the intent is not to shield third parties from liability but to ensure that once a settlement is reached, it remains final and the airline is protected from future direct or indirect claims, including those that may arise if families pursue action against equipment manufacturers or suppliers.
The airline also said it had taken steps to ensure families do not have to choose between immediate financial support and waiting for the investigation outcome. It pointed to interim compensation paid soon after the crash and ex gratia assistance of ₹1 crore disbursed by the AI-171 Memorial and Welfare Trust set up by the Tata group.
Air India maintained that both options remain open and that families can decide the timing of any final settlement.
