Nearly seven years after Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed and killed all 157 people aboard, 32 Kenyan families are set to receive a combined KSh11.3 billion in compensation linked to Boeing’s 737 MAX crash funds.
32 Kenyan families who lost relatives in the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crash are set to receive a combined $87.3 million, approximately KSh11.3 billion, in compensation.
The payout works out to an average of about $2.73 million, or KSh353 million, per Kenyan family, although the actual amount received by individual beneficiaries may vary depending on the applicable distribution arrangements.
The payments follow years of legal proceedings in the United States involving Boeing and families of victims of the two fatal Boeing 737 MAX crashes.
Flight 302 crashed on March 10, 2019, shortly after taking off from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, while en route to Nairobi. All 157 passengers and crew members on board were killed.
Kenya recorded the highest number of victims by nationality, with 32 Kenyan passport holders among those who died.
The latest compensation is linked to a $444.5 million victim compensation fund established under Boeing’s 2025 agreement with the US Department of Justice. The fund covers the estates of the 346 people killed in the Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 and Lion Air Flight 610 crashes.
The new fund is separate from a $500 million fund established in 2021. Together, the two victim funds amount to $944.5 million.
The two crashes involving Boeing 737 MAX aircraft led to the worldwide grounding of the aircraft type and triggered extensive investigations into the aircraft’s design and safety systems.
The latest payments mark another major development in the lengthy legal battle by families seeking compensation and accountability for the 2019 disaster.
