Insurers set aside $300m for Germanwings Alps crash claims
Lufthansa says its insurers are setting aside $300m (€276.45m) to deal with possible costs resulting from the French Alps crash in which 150 people died.
Lufthansa spokeswoman Kerstin Lau said that is the amount currently reserved to deal with "all costs arising in connection with the case".
Last week, the company offered immediate aid of up to €50,000 per passenger to relatives of the victims.
Those payments are separate from any eventual compensation payments over the Germanwings crash.
Prosecutors believe, based on data from the cockpit voice recorder, that the Airbus A320's co-pilot locked his captain out of the cockpit and deliberately crashed Flight 9525 from Barcelona to Duesseldorf last Tuesday.
Meanwhile, France's air accident investigation agency said it was examining cockpit entry and psychological screening procedures following the crash.
Co-pilot Andreas Lubitz had in the past had been treated for suicidal tendencies, authorities say.
In its first statement since his responsibility was established, the French agency known as BEA said its investigation was aiming to provide a "detailed analysis" of flight data.
It also said it would be studying "systemic weaknesses" that could have led to the crash, notably psychological screening procedures and cockpit-door procedures.
