Malaysia says search for long-missing flight MH370 to resume

KUALA LUMPUR — The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will resume at the end of December, Malaysia’s transport ministry said on Wednesday, more than a decade after the plane disappeared.

The Boeing 777 carrying 239 people vanished from radar screens on March 8, 2014, while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in one of aviation’s greatest enduring mysteries.

Two-thirds of the passengers were Chinese, while the others included Malaysians, Indonesians and Australians, as well as Indian, American, Dutch and French nationals.

Despite the largest search in aviation history, the plane has not been found.

Kuala Lumpur said in a statement it “wishes to update that the deep-sea search for (the) missing wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will be resuming on 30 December 2025.”

Maritime exploration firm Ocean Infinity will be conducting the search “in (a) targeted area assessed to have the highest probability of locating the aircraft,” the ministry said.

A woman writes a message during an event held by relatives of the passengers and supporters to mark the 10th year since the Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 carrying 239 people disappeared from radar screens on March 8, 2014 while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, in Subang Jaya on March 3, 2024. AFP PHOTO

The latest search in the southern Indian Ocean was suspended in April as it was “not the season”.

It was conducted on the “no find, no fee” principle as Ocean Infinity’s previous search, with the government only paying out if the firm finds the aircraft.

Ocean Infinity, based in Britain and the United States, led an unsuccessful hunt in 2018, before agreeing to launch a new search this year.

An initial Australia-led search covered 120,000 square kilometers (46,300 square miles) in the Indian Ocean over three years, but found hardly any trace of the plane other than a few pieces of debris.

The ministry said the latest development underscores its commitment in “providing closure to the families affected by the tragedy.”

Relatives of the victims had voiced hope in February that a new search could finally bring some answers.