Dubai: Air India Express has completed the payment of interim compensation to the survivors and families of passengers who died in the May 22 Mangalore air crash, a top official of the international carrier said.
Addressing a press conference in Dubai on Wednesday, Arvind Jadhav, Chairman, National Aviation Company of India Limited, the parent company that operates Air India Express, said compensation had been disbursed to the families of 151 victims and eight survivors. A total of Rs140.6 million (Dh11.2 million) has been given in addition to Rs30.6 million (Dh2.4 million) from the Indian Prime Minister's Relief Fund. Compensation to one family of a passenger who died is pending as the claimant, based in Dubai, was yet to collect it, said Jadhav.
A total of 166 people were on board the flight, including six crew members. The families of the crew members will reportedly be compensated separately as the benefits accruing to them will be in keeping with Air India's rules and regulations.
The interim compensation payment process, which began on May 28, was completed within 20 days in three sittings, Jadhav said.
Abhay Pathak, the regional head of Air India for the Gulf, told XPRESS that the carrier held a meeting of all country managers from the Gulf for a review of the network to see how best it could be strengthened.
Outsource
He said, "We may outsource our maintenance, repair and operations (MRO) to support us and ensure greater efficiency."
"We currently have 204 flights to the UAE per week," he said, noting that the size of the operations needed adequate engineering support.
"We are also looking at how to base our aircraft here and operate from the UAE to India," he said, adding, "We are looking at costing to enhance our productivity and on-time performance."
"We have a 40 per cent market share here and we want to be more visible," he said.
