Delta has confirmed that the airline is offering passengers aboard the plane that crash-landed at a Toronto airport $30,000, with no conditions attached, as part of the aftermath of the incident. This amount is six times higher than the immediate compensation provided to those on US Airways Flight 1549, famously known as the Miracle on the Hudson. Passengers who accept this offer still have the right to pursue legal action against Delta following the harrowing events at Pearson Toronto International Airport, where all 80 individuals aboard the flight survived the Monday afternoon crash.
The total amount Delta could potentially pay out to the 76 passengers on Flight 4819 might exceed $2.2 million in total.
In addition to the passengers, there were also four crew members on the flight, which was coming from Minneapolis.
Delta has assured passengers that the $30,000 payment is being offered with no obligations and will not impact their legal rights. A representative from the airline stated, “Delta Care Team representatives are telling customers this gesture has no strings attached and does not affect rights.”
After the CRJ-900 aircraft skidded down the runway and flipped over, 21 individuals were hospitalized. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the dramatic landing.
This gesture from Delta is not the first of its kind. When US Airways Flight 1549 made its emergency landing in the Hudson River in 2009, the airline provided passengers with $5,000 checks. These checks were meant to help cover the loss of luggage left behind in the river, as reported at the time.
In addition, the airline covered medical expenses for passengers who needed hospital care and reimbursed them for their ticket costs, according to NBC News reports from that period. US Airways executive Kerry Hester also expressed heartfelt apologies to the passengers in a letter, as noted in a past New York Times article.
Flight 1549, which had departed from LaGuardia Airport and was piloted by the now-legendary Chesley Sullenberger, became known as a miracle due to the fact that all 155 people on board survived the crash landing in the Hudson River.
{Matzav.com}