In a major move to empower passengers, the government has raised airline compensation limits across board with claims for deaths on board reaching up to Rs 1.69 crore.The Central Government has revised the maximum compensation that airlines are legally required to pay passengers in cases of death, injury, baggage loss, flight delay and cargo damage.The revision updates liability limits contained in the Third Schedule of the Carriage by Air Act, 1972, and has been made effective retrospectively from December 28, 2024. The last revision of these limits happened on March 2, 2020.The latest notification revises liability limits expressed in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) — an international unit of account maintained by the International Monetary Fund whose value fluctuates against the Indian rupee on a daily basis.The government has done approximate rupee conversions which are indicative and will vary based on the prevailing SDR-to-rupee rate on the date of any actual claim.The guaranteed compensation limit in case of death or bodily injury to a passenger has been raised from 1,28,821 SDR to 1,51,880 SDR, an increase of approximately 17.9 per cent. “At an approximate conversion rate, this translates to a rise from roughly Rs 1.43 crore to nearly Rs 1.69 crore per passenger,” officials explained.The compensation ceiling for losses suffered by a passenger due to flight delay has been increased from 5,346 SDR to 6,303 SDR — approximately from Rs. 5.95 lakh to nearly Rs. 7 lakh.For checked-in or cabin baggage that is lost, damaged, or delayed, compensation limit goes up from 1,288 SDR to 1,519 SDR — nearly from Rs 1.43 lakh to around Rs 1.69 lakh per passenger, according to Government sources.Likewise the compensation limit for air cargo has been raised from 22 SDR to 26 SDR per kilogram for goods lost or damaged.Sources said passengers who suffered loss, injury, or death on or after December 28, 2024, are entitled to claims under the new higher limits.