Lufthansa has offered an extra €25,000 in compensation to the families of each German victim of the Germanwings crash in March which killed 150 people.
A further €10,000 can be claimed by close family members who have suffered heath problems in the wake of the crash, which prosecutors say was deliberately flown into a mountainside by co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, the Financial Times reported.
The sums come on top of €50,000 in financial assistance offered by the airline to each family in the immediate aftermath of the crash.
Compensation payments are set to vary according to the victim’s nationality owing to different national laws and procedures.
The airline said it was too early to provide an estimate of the total compensation amount, although Lufthansa previous said it had put aside $300 million to cover possible costs arising from the tragedy.
Lufthansa yesterday announced a €7.8 million fund to support the education of surviving dependent children and a €6 million fund for other individual assistance.
“Furthermore, an aid fund is being set up, which shall, over a term of three years provide individual support for aid projects of the relatives. Project funds shall be available in the sum of up to €2 million per year.” the carrier said.
“The relatives of the victims and their lawyers shall be informed on further compensation over the next few days.
“As a first step, Germanwings and Lufthansa have paid off an advanced compensation in the amount of €50,000 to close relatives.”
Lubitz, who investigators say had a history of severe depression, locked the captain out of the cockpit before crashing the aircraft.