Families will be compensated despite cloud over #QZ8501 flight: lawyers

Families or next of kin of victims on board Flight QZ8501 will be compensated regardless of whether investigations reveal the flight was not permitted. Questions of invalidated insurance policies loomed after Indonesian authorities claimed the flight had operated without approval. Lawyer Jeremy Joseph, who specialises in maritime and aviation law, said the Warsaw Convention stipulates the minimum liability for international carriage of persons, luggage or goods performed by aircraft be US$160,000 per passenger. He said if the flight operated without permission and had breached standard operating procedures, then families can demand more compensation.

The Warsaw Convention is a public policy and if it is proven that the airline acted through gross negligence or recklessness, then the families may break the limit for compensation.

Lawyer Jeremy Joseph

Civil lawyer Alwin Rajasurya said if the flight had operated without permission, the airline’s insurance company may not compensate the families. He said the airline would be liable if the investigations reveal negligence on its part. Alwin said personal life insurance companies would also have to follow up with their own policies, even if investigations determine the flight was unauthorised. He said passengers who purchased the “legal contract” or flight ticket would not be aware that the flight was unauthorised. Similarly, he said there would be no reason to hold back on life insurance claims.

World airasia insurance