FG reassures Dana Air crash victims’ families on claims

It said everything is being done to forestall a re-occurrence of such unfortunate accidents in the nation’s aviation sector. Giving the assurance at the opening ceremony of the Aviation Safety Week 2013 organised by the ministry in Abuja, Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, said the past two years had witnessed remarkable transformation of the sector in terms of human capital and infrastructure capacity building, regulatory standards and technology-driven operations in furtherance of the Federal Government’s commitment to make Nigeria’s air space one of the safest in air transport operations globally.

Oduah, who expressed government’s sense of loss and heartfelt commiseration with the bereaved families over the June 3, 2012 air crash in which over 153 lives were lost, said the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, had worked closely with the management of the airlines and relevant insurance companies to ensure expeditious payment of claims to the families of the victims.

She lamented that the delay in payment to some families was occasioned by legal tussles and lack of proper documentation from victims’ families and promised that government would not rest until all verified claims are paid to families of the victims in consonance with existing regulations and statutory provisions of the industry.

The minister said: “In the last one year, NCAA has worked closely with Dana Airline, relevant insurance companies and the Lagos State government to ensure the expeditious processing of claims and compensation to families of victims.

“Specifically, on our request, the Lagos State government granted waivers on the mandatory requirements for the processing of claims, so as to lighten the burden of the bereaved families. “To date, a substantial number of families of the victims have been paid varying percentages of insurance compensation.