And the Nepal Government is responsible for the same.
How? Continue to know more.
Flight 961 crashed just before landing at Pokhara International Airport on Sunday, killing all 72 on board the ATR turboprop aircraft.
And just when their kins’ wounds are wide open, they may be deprived of millions in compensation.
And who is to blame? The Government and the lawmakers who have delayed the passing of the Air Carriers’ Liability and Insurance Bill.
Currently, the minimum compensation for a domestic flight passenger’s death is USD 20,000.
And draft bill finalised back in 2020 had a five-fold increase in compensation for death or injury requiring the domestic airlines to pay a minimum of USD 100,000 in compensation.
Yes, that is around Rs. 1.3 crores at current exchange rate (USD 1=Rs. 130)!
And this is in line with the requirements of the Montreal Convention 1999 (MC99) which Nepal adopted in 2018 making it applicable to international airlines but not enforcing the same to domestic airlines.
And the draft bill was finalised back in 2020 itself as a modified version of the MC99 for domestic airlines to comply.
So what caused the delay?
The draft bill has to be approved by the cabinet meeting to be tabled in the Parliament.
But frequent changes of the aviation ministers is said to have resulted in the slow progress of the bill.
Apparently, the Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Ministry holds the record for the fastest entry and exits of ministers with 7 ministers holding the portfolio in a span of 3 years.
So, had the government acted on time to pass the law in time, the families of the victims of the Yeti Airlines tragedy would each receive at least USD 100,000 in compensation.
Don’t you think the families of the victims should claim for additional compensation from the government or file a case against the government for the enhanced compensation?