Malaysia announces plans to resume search for long-missing flight MH370

Malaysia's transport ministry announced on Wednesday that the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is set to restart at the end of December, over eleven years after the aircraft disappeared. The Boeing 777, carrying 239 people, vanished from radar on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, marking one of the most baffling aviation mysteries of modern times.

The majority of passengers were Chinese, with the remainder including Malaysians, Indonesians, Australians, as well as citizens from India, the United States, the Netherlands, and France. Despite the most extensive search operation in aviation history, the plane remains unfound.

Kuala Lumpur issued a statement saying the deep-sea search for the missing wreckage will resume on 30 December 2025. The operation will be led by maritime exploration company Ocean Infinity, which will focus on a targeted area assessed to have the highest likelihood of locating the aircraft.

The previous search in the southern Indian Ocean was paused in April due to seasonal conditions. Similar to earlier efforts, the mission operates on a "no find, no fee" basis, meaning payment is contingent upon the aircraft being located. Ocean Infinity, headquartered in the UK and the US, conducted an unsuccessful hunt in 2018 before agreeing to undertake this new operation.

Earlier, an Australia-led search over three years covered approximately 120,000 square kilometres (46,300 square miles) in the Indian Ocean but yielded only a few fragments of debris.

The ministry emphasized that this renewed effort reflects its commitment to providing closure for the families affected by the tragedy. Relatives of the victims had expressed hope earlier this year that a new search might finally bring answers. When contacted by AFP, family members were not immediately available to comment.

Since the disappearance, numerous theories have circulated about the fate of MH370, including suggestions that the pilot, Zaharie Ahmad Shah, may have deliberately deviated from the flight path. A 2018 final report highlighted failures by air traffic control and noted that the planes course was manually altered, but investigators could not determine why and did not rule out third-party interference.

Families of the passengers have consistently demanded answers. On the 11th anniversary of the disappearance, relatives of Chinese passengers gathered outside government offices and the Malaysian embassy in Beijing, holding placards and shouting for their loved ones to be returned, asking, "When will the 11 years of waiting and torment end?"

Author: Sophia Brooks