Air crash death payout raised to Rs60m

A National Assembly sub-committee has approved the Carriage By Air (Amendment) Bill 2025 under which a passenger’s family is proposed to receive Rs60 million in the event of his accidental death during an international air travel.

A meeting of the Defence Sub-Committee of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Defence was held on Friday at Parliament House under the convenership of Sharmila Faruqi.

The committee reviewed compensation payments related to the PIA flights. Officials from the PIA told the committee that compensation had already been paid in the case of Rishna Ansar. 
Out of 91 affected families of PIA flight PK-8030, 71 have received compensation, while remaining cases are pending in court.

The sub-committee then discussed the Carriage By Air (Amendment) Bill 2025. 

The legal adviser of the Ministry of Defence briefed the committee that the bill proposes Rs60 million compensation for a passenger’s death during international travel, aligned with international standards.

In case of lost baggage, airlines will pay Rs600,000 per bag. For domestic travel, families will receive Rs20 million in case of accidental death.

The Ministry had initially proposed Rs15 million, but the cabinet raised it to Rs20 million. In India, this compensation is Rs5 million.

For lost or damaged cargo, compensation will be Rs 5,000 per kilogramme. He added that they aim to promote domestic air travel, therefore ticket prices also need consideration.

In case a passenger is injured during a flight, a board will determine the amount of compensation.

The committee chairperson proposed adding a clause that relatives of victims of air crashes should receive compensation within 30 days after submitting the succession certificate.

The ministry’s legal team accepted the proposal and the sub-committee then approved the bill.

During the meeting, MNA Abdul Qadir Patel claimed that people living in villages near the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP) suffer from skin diseases but are not being given Group-IV jobs at the plant, while they also lack proper healthcare facilities.

Responding to the concerns, KANUPP officials stated that no employee working at the plant had ever reported skin diseases; if radiation were an issue, those living and working there for years would also be affected, but no such evidence exists.

Regarding jobs, the officials said that as government salaries are fixed and comparatively lower, local residents prefer to work in Karachi rather than accept lower-paying positions in the area.

Committee Chairperson Sharmila Faruqi expressed dissatisfaction with the response, saying she could not understand how outsiders accept low-paying jobs while locals do not. 
MNA Abdul Qadir Patel also expressed dissatisfaction with the replies concerning Group-IV employment and medical facilities.

She asked what measures were in place to protect local residents from radiation and demanded details of facilities provided to them so far.

The chairperson directed that the next meeting should be provided with a list of how many locals had been employed. The sub-committee also decided to visit the areas surrounding KANUPP to review issues faced by local residents.