AIR FRANCE has announced it is to compensate the families of the 228 people who died when its flight AF 447 from Rio de Janeiro to Paris crashed into the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month.
The airline said that, through its insurers, it intended to provide an advance of some €17,500 to the families of the 228 victims who died in the June 1st crash.
“The lawyers of our insurers in every country are talking to the victims’ families to try and organise this advance payment,” Air France chief executive officer Pierre-Henri Gourgeon told RTL radio.
Mr Gourgeon presented the payments as a compassionate gesture from the airline, rather than an admission of liability for the incident.
He said he did not believe that accepting the money would mean the relatives would forfeit their right to take a civil case against Air France at a later date.
Mr Gourgeon said the Air France insurance contract meant that the families would eventually receive compensation of approximately €100,000 for each victim.
Mr Gourgeon added that the airline was considering holding a memorial service for the victims of the incident. Passengers of 32 nationalities died when the Airbus 330 crashed into the Atlantic after encountering stormy weather. However, the cause of the crash is not yet known.
Brazilian and French authorities are still searching the ocean for debris and bodies, as well as the aircraft’s flight recorders, which investigators believe could provide key information about the crash. Three Irish friends, Dr Aisling Butler (26), Ballinakill, Co Tipperary, Dr Eithne Walls (28), Ballygowan, Co Down, and Dr Jane Deasy (27), Dublin, died in the crash. – (Additional reporting Reuters)