AirAsia crash: Airline to pay victims' families $125,000 in compensation

AirAsia will pay roughly $125,000 in compensation to the families of passengers on board the fatal flight that crashed off the coast of Indonesia last month.

The company said it will provide about $100,000 in compensation for each passenger on the plane. That's in addition to $24,000 already offered to victims' families.

A spokesperson said AirAsia will follow Indonesia's Transport Ministry's regulations, which set compensation at 1.3 million Indonesian rupiah ($98,000) for deaths caused by aviation accidents.

162 people were on board Flight 8501, which disappeared on its way from Indonesia to Singapore on 28 December. Search crews have recovered parts of the plane and continue to scour the Java Sea for more clues as to why the plane went down.

It is unclear whether the amount being offered by AirAsia will require victims' families to agree not to pursue other claims for compensation.

Compensation processes are likely to take time. In the case of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, which went missing in March, families have received some initial payments but final amounts have yet to be settled.