Air India begins returning belongings of Ahmedabad crash victims: Details

Air India has started returning personal belongings to the families of the victims, according to news agency PTI. The airline said the process, which comes seven months after the tragic Ahmedabad air crash that killed 260 people, is being carried out with respect, dignity and care.

 

According to the report, an Air India spokesperson said it worked closely with an external agency to recover, catalogue and document all returnable items. Teams spent months carefully identifying and listing the belongings to ensure accuracy before reaching out to families.

What items were recovered?

More than 22,000 personal items were recovered and preserved. Of these, around 8,000 are “associated items” such as passports or documents that can be linked to a specific person. The remaining 14,000 items are “un-associated items” whose owners could not be identified.

 

 

The recovered items include everyday objects such as a toy airplane, toy car, wristwatch, plastic bangles, a sweater, shoes, handbags, and even a half-burnt page from a book containing the Gujarati prayer “Mangal Mandir Kholo”.

 

One man, whose mother died in the crash, said he received a link from Air India to view the items online. He told PTI that he checked the portal carefully but could not find anything belonging to his mother, possibly because she was carrying very little luggage on that day.

How the return process works

Air India has shared details of recovered items with families through email and a dedicated website. For associated items, families receive photographs and details and are given three choices: decline the item, collect it in person from a facilitation centre in Ahmedabad, or receive it through courier.

 

The process began on January 5 and will continue until mid-February. Several families have already visited the facilitation centre to collect belongings of their loved ones. Air India said the process is being conducted after receiving all required regulatory approvals.

 

Meanwhile, for items whose ownership could not be established, Air India has created a separate online portal displaying all 14,000 un-associated items. Access to this portal has been shared only with families of the victims. If a family believes an item belongs to their loved one, they can submit a claim online. These items will also be returned either in person in Ahmedabad or via courier, according to the family’s choice.

Ahmedabad Air India crash

The Air India crash that occurred on June 12 last year sent shockwaves through the nation. The Air India flight AI 171, a Boeing 787-8 headed to London Gatwick, went down shortly after taking off from Ahmedabad airport. The aircraft crashed into a medical college hostel complex and burst into flames, killing 241 of the 242 people on board and 19 people on the ground.