AirAsia offers to compensate each victim 24,000 USD

AirAsia has offered to pay $24,000 in compensation to the relatives of each victim on flight QZ8501 that crashed into the Java Sea on December 28.

Relatives of Hayati Lutfiah, a passenger on flight QZ8501, cry as they receive her body at Bhayankara Hospital in Surabaya, Indonesia, on January 1.Photo: Reuters

According to CNN, some families received a proposal letter from AirAsia yesterday, detailing preliminary compensation.

The letter said families were entitled to about $24,000 for each member on board the ill-fated flight.

While some relatives signed the letter, others asked the airline to change the wording.

AirAsia stressed that the compensation does not mean that their loved ones have died and the money is to cover the "financial difficulties" of the families during the time of the search for the plane and the victims.

Malaysian aviation and maritime law expert Jeremy Joseph said relatives would still be compensated even though investigators concluded the flight was not licensed on the day of the crash.

According to Mr. Joseph, the Warsaw Pact stipulates that the minimum liability of international airlines carrying people, luggage or cargo is 160,000 USD per passenger.

Even in cases where the flight operates illegally and violates standard operating procedures, families can claim additional compensation.

Indonesia's Transport Ministry said AirAsia is only allowed to fly the Surabaya-Singapore route on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. However, the airline continued to fly on Sunday, the day of the QZ8501 disaster.

So far, five large pieces of debris from the Airbus that crashed into the Java Sea on December 28 have been found. Rescuers have also recovered 34 bodies of victims of the accident.

According to Vnexpress