Airline says families are its prime concern
Print Edition
MALAYSIA Airlines’ chief executive said yesterday that the carrier’s role was to take care of the families of passengers on its missing jetliner and that it had curbed its advertising out of respect for their well-being.
The airline and the Malaysian authorities have faced heavy criticism, particularly from China, for mismanaging the search and holding back information.
Most of the 239 people on board the missing flight MH370 were Chinese.
Malaysia Airlines chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said that it was “beyond any reasonable doubt the aircraft was lost.”
Tomorrow it will be 30 days since the jetliner lost communications and disappeared from civilian radar.
“Our role is basically to take care of the needs of the families and relatives,” he said, saying no efforts were being spared to ensure their “emotional and financial health.”
But he said he understood the families’ frustration.
“The lack of answers is not giving comfort to anyone, especially for the families. The families want answers. Sometimes, answers are something we can’t give.”
Malaysia Airlines has given initial financial assistance of US$5,000 per passenger to their immediate families and put the families up in hotels in Kuala Lumpur and Beijing, but has been the target of protests in China.
Ahmad Jauhari said the plane’s disappearance would impact on financial performance, but gave no more details.
Malaysia Airlines, Southeast Asia’s fourth largest carrier by market value, was already loss-making before the incident.
In 2013 it posted a net loss of 1.17 billion Malaysian ringgit (US$357 million) — its third annual net loss in a row.
Meanwhile, Malaysian police have narrowed the scope of its investigations to the pilots and cabin crew after clearing the passengers.
Malaysia Airlines has also conducted its own probe into the pilots, Zaharie Ahmad Shah and Fariq Abdul Hamid.
“We didn’t find anything suspicious (about the pilots),” Ahmad Jauhari said.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
