The most recent search operation for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 has been put on hold as it is currently “not the season,” according to Kuala Lumpur’s transport minister, more than ten years after the aircraft went missing.
“The operations have been paused for now, but they will recommence towards the end of this year,” said Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
“At this moment, it’s not the season,” Mr. Loke remarked during an event at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
The Boeing 777, which was carrying 239 individuals, vanished from radar on 8 March 2014, while it was traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
Mr. Loke’s statements come shortly after authorities announced that the search had resumed, following previous unsuccessful attempts that spanned extensive areas of the Indian Ocean.
An initial search led by Australia covered 120,000 sq.km in the Indian Ocean over a period of three years, but discovered little evidence of the plane, other than a handful of debris.
There were 239 individuals on board when the plane disappeared from radar screens in 2014.
The maritime exploration company Ocean Infinity, which operates in Britain and the United States, conducted a failed search in 2018 before agreeing to initiate a new search this year.
“Whether it will ultimately be found cannot be predicted; that depends on the search,” Mr. Loke stated, referring to the plane’s wreckage.
In December, Mr. Loke announced that a new search area of 15,000 sq.km in the southern Indian Ocean would be explored by Ocean Infinity.
The latest mission operated under the same “no find, no fee” principle as Ocean Infinity’s prior search, with the government only disbursing payment if the aircraft is located.
A final report on the tragedy, released in 2018, pointed to failures by air traffic control and indicated that the plane’s course had been altered manually.
Investigators noted in the 495-page report that the reasons behind the plane’s disappearance remain unclear, and they did not dismiss the possibility that someone other than the pilots had redirected the aircraft.
Two-thirds of the passengers were Chinese, while the remainder included individuals from Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, and beyond.
Relatives of those lost on the flight have continued to seek answers from Malaysian authorities.
Family members of Chinese passengers gathered in Beijing outside government offices and the Malaysian embassy last month to mark the 11th anniversary of the flight’s disappearance.
Participants at the gathering chanted, “Give us back our loved ones!”
Some displayed signs asking, “When will the 11 years of waiting and suffering come to an end?”
