French court orders Yemen airline to pay 30 million euros damages for 2009 crash

A French court has ordered Yemenia airline to pay more than 30 million euros in damages to the families of victims of a deadly 2009 crash off the Comoros islands. The Yemen air carrier was charged with manslaughter in 2013 over the crash of an Airbus A310 which the French authorities said should never have been allowed to fly.

The families of victims in the Comoros crash pray at Marseille airport AFP

All but one of the 142 passengers, who included dozens of French nationals and 11 crew members, died in the June 2009 disaster in the Indian Ocean as the plane tried to land in the Comoros capital Moroni.

Bahia Bakary, then 14, was the only survivor.

Some 800 people who were close to the victims had demanded more than 70 million euros in damages.

The airline sought to reduce the amount, particularly with regards to uncles, aunts, nephews or nieces whom it argued "do not demonstrate a specific affected link".

Victims' groups, however, countered that entire families were "decimated".

The 19-year-old jet had been banned from European airspace and a 2007 check of the A310 by French inspectors had found numerous faults with the plane.

A Comoros report into the crash concluded that "inappropriate actions of the crew" at the flight controls caused the plane to stall and led to the crash.