The Cabinet has cleared a new draft law as per the Montreal Convention 1999 that will ensure a passengers claim to compensation in case of any civil aviation accident.

The draft for “The Air Transport (The Montreal Convention, 1999) Act, 2019,” was approved during the Cabinet’s weekly meeting on Monday (Aug 26), said Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam.

The new law will provision for a compensation of $160,000 (Aprrox 13.5 million) from the airlines company in the event of the death of a passenger in a civil aviation accident.

Alam said that had the Montreal Convention been in place before, the families of the Nepal plane crash victims would’ve gotten better compensation than the $12,000 they received.

He added that the draft has proposed 10 years’ jail and a fine of Tk 1 billion for airlines owners or company in failure to pay the fine.

It also proposed to increase the compensation of lost luggage from $ 25 to $ 70 for per kilogram. The amount will be $ 27 for cargo which was previously $ 25.

Responding to queries on whether air fare will soar if the law is implemented, Alam said, “It won’t because the airlines will be claiming the money from the insurance company.”