Malaysian Transport Minister Anthony Loke as revealed that the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 which went missing in 2014 is due to be extended for another year.
The Boeing 777 which was carrying 239 people disappeared from radar screens on March 8, 2014, while en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in one of aviation’s greatest enduring mysteries. Despite the largest search in aviation history, the plane has not been found.
Loke said the extension will run until June 30, 2027. He said the deal will maintains all terms and conditions of the existing agreement with exploration firm Ocean Infinity.
The deal 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.
“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.
Loke said the extension 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.
Two-thirds of the passengers were Chinese, and the rest included Malaysians, Indonesians and Australians, as well as Indian, American, Dutch and French nationals.
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.
Ocean Infinity conducted previous unsuccessful searches in 2018, as did Australia for three years until January 2017.