KARACHI:
Families of 100 victims on Airblue flight ED202 are yet to receive the compensation money promised by the airline, The Express Tribune has learnt.
There were no survivors on the ill-fated flight that had 152 people onboard, including 146 passengers and six crew members.
Airblue spokesperson Raheel Ahmed told The Express Tribune that only 50 of the victims’ families have been paid Rs5 million so far.
In the initial phase, the airline paid 0.5 million to all families for urgent relief, but no compensation package was announced until around three months after the crash. Affected families alleged that the airline was planning to usurp the insurance money owed to them. Some even said that the company was earning interest on the compensation money and was deliberately delaying the payout.
However, the airline says the announcement of the compensation package was delayed only because the management was negotiating with the insurance company to ensure maximum compensation. “Each family is being given Rs5 million in addition to the 0.5 million given earlier,” the Airblue official said, claiming it was the highest amount paid to plane crash victims in Pakistan.
However, sources familiar with the matter say there is no particular insurance company involved, but a “faceless international consortium” that comprises a dozen companies, including a large local company.
Airblue has given Rs5 million to only those families of the victims who have fulfilled their legal requirements, which includes a succession certificate. The airline claims that only 60 people have submitted these certificates, of which 50 people have been paid the full amount. These 50 do not include the two American nationals who were also onboard.
The airline maintains there is “no question of earning interest on the compensation money” since the insurance company has not made any payments to Airblue, they claim. A senior Civil Aviation Authority official said the inquiry report is complete and has been submitted to the Ministry of Defence. “It will be made public soon,” he said, adding that the matter was now in the hands of the prime minister.
FIA inspector Rehmatullah Dhomki, who lost his wife and three children in the crash, said although the inquiry report will not be able to bring back his loved ones, it is necessary that it is made public so that future mistakes can be avoided. “Also, the role of the CAA itself has been suspicious in the incident and I want to know exactly how it happened,” Dhomki said, who himself was on board a PIA flight at the time of crash.
Dhomki says the compensation money paid to him means nothing. “The biggest asset that a man can have is his children. You are nothing once you lose them,” he said. The FIA inspector says he will build a school in Jamshoro in the name of his daughter, Benazir, from the compensation money.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 28th, 2011.
COMMENTS (8)
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This is not fair they lose their love ones by the Offical Mistake and untill now we didn't pay them. very Shame . President and Prime Minister have to take Action and gave them compensation money Kindly. They was Pakistanis and your voters also. think about it please.
What has happened, it happened either it was a security matter in the Margalla mountains or an accident, the grieved families will not get back their dears who lost their lifes. It was clear that the direction of the plan was surprisingly not to its normal direction. Just now to pray for the departed souls rather than help some people to politicize the matter.
@Muneeb Ahmed Shah:
I support your case fully.
Family members should REFUSE to take one penny of compensation IF taking it involves signing something that absolves AB of everything (including criminal negligence and manslaughter) for all times to come.
Rs 5 million is meaningless unless you know the cause of the crash. A fixed sum of money also does not take into account the economic profile/characteristics of those who perished (age, projected income stream and so on).
July 28, 2011 marks the 1st anniversary of ill fated flight ED-202 tragic crash. Along with other 151 families I lost my youngest brother in-law who was more than a brother to me, Asad Anwar. For the last 24 hrs or so i've been constantly recalling the time when he was with me a year ago and finally at 9:44 am i recited fatiha & dua for him as it was the time his soul departed from this world to another. For the last one year we've been struggling hard to fight the sadness of this tragedy but still couldn't get hold of it. Any compensating amount won't bring Asad or any one out of the 152 Shuhadas of Margalla tragedy. All we demand of is to bring out a transparent investigative report highlighting the true causes of the crash. AirBlue Crash Affectees Group is an initiative taken by the affected families to fight for our "Right to know" the truth. Please join us to make this non-political initiative a nation's cause !
The report will never be made public and these families will keep suffering. Its a dismay to learn how things operate in Pakistan.
IATA / CAA should consider cancelling the licence of Air Blue.
This speak of Goverence at all level,the crash report is treated as STATE secret , compensation is treated as non issue what ever the delaying tactics are their in book are being employed.
Securing succession certificate, from the independent judicary takes about one year if all are adults if minor is involed them add another one year plus efforts and money.