The Malaysian government has formally approved a new search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, a decade after the aircraft vanished in one of the world’s greatest aviation mysteries.
The search will be conducted by UK-based exploration firm Ocean Infinity under a "no find, no fee" agreement, meaning the company will only be paid if it locates the wreckage.
Transport minister Anthony Loke confirmed that Ocean Infinity will receive $70m (£56m) if successful. The search will cover a 15,000sqkm area in the southern Indian Ocean, identified using updated satellite and ocean drift analysis.
The final terms of the agreement were approved by Malaysia’s cabinet on 19 March, allowing the search to proceed.
Flight MH370, a Boeing 777 plane carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. Its sudden loss of communication and deviation from its flight path led to years of speculation and numerous theories about its fate.
Despite extensive multinational search efforts, including a $150m (£120m) underwater search by Malaysia, Australia and China, no confirmed wreckage has been found within the designated search area.
Ocean Infinity previously conducted a three-month search in 2018 under similar terms, but that mission ended without success.
However, in the years since, analysts have refined their estimates of where the aircraft might have gone down. A search vessel was already deployed to the target zone in February, even before the deal was officially signed.
“The government is committed to continuing the search operation and providing closure for the families of the MH370 passengers,” Mr Loke said.
The renewed search has reignited both hope and frustration among the families of those on board. Earlier this month, on the 11th anniversary of the disappearance, grieving relatives gathered outside the Malaysian embassy in Beijing, chanting: “Give us back our loved ones!”
Many have expressed disappointment over the lack of direct communication from Malaysian authorities, with some only learning about the search approval through news reports.
In an earlier investigation published in 2018, officials concluded the plane's controls were likely deliberately manipulated to divert it from its intended path, though they stopped short of identifying a culprit or motive. The lack of conclusive evidence has fuelled various conspiracy theories, ranging from pilot suicide to foreign military involvement.
Investigators have long maintained that only the discovery of the wreckage can provide definitive answers.
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