Malaysia extends long-missing flight MH370 search deal to 2027

KUALA LUMPUR: The search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will be extended for another year, Malaysia said on Monday, 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, and the rest 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.

Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on Monday the extension will run until June 30, 2027, and maintains all terms and conditions of the existing agreement with exploration firm Ocean Infinity.

This includes a “no find, no fee” principle, meaning Ocean Infinity will only be paid $70 million if the wreckage is located.

“This decision is a manifestation of the government’s continuous and unwavering commitment to provide a closure for the next of kin of the passengers aboard flight MH370,” Loke said in a statement.

“The approval of this extension aims to allow the remaining search area of 7,428.54 square kilometres (2,868 square miles), to be fully completed by the company,” he added.

The extension, Loke said, also took into account new commercial commitments received by Ocean Infinity that required its primary search assets to be temporarily redeployed to another location.

“The redeployment and rescheduling of these assets can only be conducted between November 2026 and April 2027, during the calm sea season, to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the search,” he said.

The most recent search took place in two stages, beginning in March 2025, but the firm returned empty-handed.

Families of the Chinese passengers published an open letter on March 8 — the 12th anniversary of the flight’s disappearance — criticising the lack of information they received during the latest search.

“We understand the difficulties of the search,” the relatives said in their letter to Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, in which they thanked him for the initiative.

“However, since 15 January this year, families have received no further search briefings whatsoever,” they said.

Ocean Infinity conducted previous unsuccessful searches in 2018, as did Australia for three years until January 2017.