Air India has firmly denied allegations that it is pressuring families of victims of the AI-171 Boeing crash in Ahmedabad to sign legal waivers as a condition for receiving compensation. The Tata Group-owned airline issued a formal statement on 11 June 2025, asserting there is 'absolutely no deadline or pressure' on any family to accept its final settlement offer.

The Allegation

The controversy was triggered by the daughter of Vijay Rupani, former Chief Minister of Gujarat, who alleged that Air India was coercing crash victims' families into signing legal waivers before disbursing compensation. Rupani was among the 260 people killed when the aircraft went down mere seconds after take-off from Ahmedabad airport on 12 June 2025. His daughter's public statement added a high-profile voice to concerns reportedly shared by several other affected families.

What Air India Said

In its official response, Air India clarified that families retain the right to wait for the conclusions of the official investigation before deciding whether to accept any settlement. The airline said the language in its Receipt, Discharge and Indemnity (RDI) document is designed solely to make compensation settlements final and to protect the airline from duplicate future claims — not to insulate aircraft manufacturers or other third parties from independent legal liability.

'Families or individuals have absolutely no deadline or pressure to accept our offer within a set timeframe,' the airline stated.

Compensation Disbursed So Far

Air India said it has paid an interim amount of ₹25 lakh (approximately £21,000) to the families of each deceased passenger to address immediate financial needs. According to the airline, interim compensation has reached the families of 96 per cent of the deceased. The remaining cases involve incomplete documentation or ongoing family disputes over legal heirs.

On the ground-injury side, 94 per cent of those injured have received either a one-time full-and-final settlement or interim compensation, depending on the severity of injury and any loss of livelihood. The remaining individuals had collected a form from the airline's helpdesk after the crash but had not subsequently submitted it, the airline said.

Tata Group's Ex Gratia Payments

Tata Sons Chairman N. Chandrasekaran had separately announced an ex gratia payment of ₹1 crore per deceased family as part of the Tata Group's philanthropic commitments — a measure the group described as going beyond statutory compensation requirements. Air India said ex gratia disbursements of ₹1 crore have been completed for 91 per cent of the families of the deceased. The remaining cases involve either incomplete documentation or families that have declined to accept the payment.

What Comes Next

With the official investigation into the AI-171 crash still under way, families who choose not to accept the current settlement retain the option to pursue separate legal action once findings are published. The airline's clarification does little to fully resolve the underlying tension between expedited financial relief and families' rights to hold all responsible parties — including aircraft manufacturers — accountable through the courts. How regulators and courts ultimately interpret the RDI document's scope will likely determine whether the dispute escalates further.