India has recorded eight air accidents so far in 2025, making it one of the deadliest years in recent times.
Incidents involved one commercial plane, three trainee aircraft and four helicopters.
Compensation is governed by the Carriage by Air Act and Montreal Convention.
A total of eight air accidents have been reported across India this year, resulting in 274 fatalities and 84 injuries, the government informed Parliament on Thursday.
Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Civil Aviation Murlidhar Mohol said the incidents included one scheduled commercial flight, three trainee aircraft and four helicopter crashes. Investigations into the causes are being conducted by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), he added.
“There have been a total of 08 accidents (involving 1 scheduled aircraft, 3 trainee aircraft and 4 helicopters) reported in the year 2025 (till date),” Mohol said in a written reply.
The deadliest of these occurred on 12 June, when an Air India passenger aircraft crashed, killing 260 people and injuring 81 others. The crash accounts for the vast majority of the year’s casualties.
The remaining incidents involved smaller aircraft and helicopters. A helicopter crash in Gujarat on 22 April claimed one life. On 8 May, six people died in another chopper crash in Uttarakhand. A second helicopter crash in Uttarakhand, reported on 15 June, resulted in seven fatalities.
Across all eight incidents, 84 people sustained injuries, the minister said, with most of the injuries occurring in the Air India crash.
In a separate written reply, Mohol stated that 18 accidents involving Indian civil-registered scheduled aircraft have been reported since 2015.
Addressing compensation for victims, the minister said, “Payment of compensation to the passenger or next of kin in case of death or bodily injury to the passenger, caused by air accident/incident is governed by the provisions of Carriage by Air Act, 1972.
“India has ratified the Montreal Convention, 1999 by making amendments to the Carriage by Air Act, 1972 in 2009. As per the said act, the liability of payment of compensation in case of death, delay, damage or loss to persons, baggage or cargo for international carriage, is of the carriers.”
(With inputs from PTI)
