IATA welcomes resumption of MH370 search

IATA director-general Willie Walsh says determining the cause of the Boeing 777’s disappearance is critical for global aviation safety.

UK-based seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity will resume the search for MH370 on Dec 30. (Ocean Infinity pic)

GENEVA:

 The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has welcomed efforts to resume the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 later this month, saying the global aviation community remains determined to uncover the truth behind the aircraft’s disappearance.

IATA director-general Willie Walsh said determining the cause of the Boeing 777’s disappearance remained critical for global aviation safety, and that any credible new data or technology that could aid the search should be utilised.

UK-based seabed exploration firm Ocean Infinity will resume the search for MH370 on Dec 30. The aircraft vanished on March 8, 2014, with 239 passengers and crew on board.

“It is essential that we make whatever effort we can to discover the aircraft and to understand what actually happened,” Walsh told Bernama at IATA’s global media briefing at its headquarters here.

“Everybody wants to see that aircraft found, and everybody wants to be able to understand what actually happened.”

The disappearance of MH370, which was on a routine commercial flight from KLIA to Beijing, remains one of aviation’s greatest mysteries.

Military radar tracked the aircraft turning back across Peninsular Malaysia towards the Andaman Sea before it disappeared from surveillance.

Walsh said the Geneva-based IATA, which represents airlines and sets global standards for safety, security, efficiency and sustainability, supported any renewed attempts by governments or technical teams to locate the missing aircraft.

He said the association would welcome any effort that contributes to advancing the investigation, adding that the loss of MH370 continued to weigh heavily on families, the industry and the wider public.

“I am sure all of the families involved will welcome the resumption of the search for the aircraft, as will everybody in the industry, because we all want to know what happened,” he said.

Ocean Infinity has informed the Malaysian government that it will recommence seabed search operations on Dec 30 for a total of 55 days, to be carried out intermittently.

The search for MH370 has been the largest and most expensive underwater search in aviation history and involves three countries: Australia, Malaysia and China.

The original search covered 120,000 sq km of the southern Indian Ocean and was suspended in 2017 after two years.

Only scattered debris confirmed to be from MH370 has ever been recovered. The debris was found on islands in the western Indian Ocean after drifting on prevailing currents.

A search attempt earlier this year was suspended due to poor weather.

Ocean Infinity has expressed confidence that improved robotics and mapping technology, along with lessons from the earlier mission, will give the new effort a stronger chance of success.

The firm said its current fleet of robotic survey vessels is carbon-neutral and significantly more efficient than traditional deep-sea platforms. - FMT