The appeal was made at a meeting in Bandung on Tuesday between both parties concerning the compensation of Rp 55 million ($5,657) offered by the Lion Air management to each passenger of the ill-fated airplane.

The Lion Air airplane carrying 101 passengers and seven crew members crashed on April 13. All passengers and cabin crew survived but 52 of them were hospitalized in various Bali hospitals.

Those who accepted compensation were required to sign an agreement that contained 12 clauses, one being to not file suit against the company for the accident.

Lion Air operations director Daniel Putut said the compensation offered was greater than that regulated under a 2011 transportation ministerial decree on airline liabilities.

The law states that an airline company is liable to pay a maximum Rp 4 million in damages for lost baggage, as well as Rp 200,000 per day for lost time.

Of the 28 passengers present at the meeting in Bandung, three rejected the offer.

Risa Suseanty, a downhill mountain bike national athlete, was one of the passengers to reject the offer. Suseanty, along with her husband, plans to wait for the National Transportation Safety Committee's

investigative report.

'Now I'm traumatized when on a plane. After reaching Bandung from Bali, I couldn't handle it and just cried,' said Suseanty.

Gandhi Nurima, another passenger, said she needed to think about the offer because she took out insurance offered by Lion Air. According to the insurance package, in the event of an evacuation from a flight, up to Rp 200 million can be claimed.

Gandhi was confused by the compensation offer because one of the clauses stipulates that passengers cannot file charges against the company nor claim insurance. 'If we sign the deal it means any liability of the airline is annulled,' said Gandhi.

Nur Selviana, one of the passengers who accepted Lion Air's offer, said that the incident was a mishap. 'I am grateful for the compensation money. The point is, I'm grateful I survived,' she said. (asw)

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