AS SEARCH for the missing Malaysia Airlines (MAS) flight MH370 continues, Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak called for patience and stressed that the government is doing its best to find information that can lead to the discovery of the aircraft.
The search now covers nearly a total of 27,000 square nautical miles in the Straits of Malacca South China Sea. Forty-two ships and 39 aircraft have been deployed, involving 12 countries, with India, Japan and Brunei being the latest to participate.
In a press statement yesterday, acting transport minister and minister of defence, Hishammuddin Hussein, said the way forward is to bring more experts to analyse both civilian and military data; in the East or the West, on land or water.
“We are now working with many experts, including those from Boeing, the US Federal Aviation Authority, and the US National Transport Safety Board,” he revealed.
He also described co-operation with the Vietnamese authorities as being “very good”, adding: “We have already requested permission for Malaysian aircraft to search Vietnamese areas of responsibility.
“The Vietnamese have responded positively, and have requested a diplomatic note from Malaysia, which has already been sent by the Malaysian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.”
Meanwhile, as a mark of respect for the passengers and crew of MH370, MAS today announced the MH370 and MH371 flight codes will be retired from the airline’s Kuala Lumpur-Beijing-Kuala Lumpur route.
With effect from March 14, the new flight numbers to replace MH370 and MH371 will be MH318 for Kuala Lumpur-Beijing and MH319 for Beijing-Kuala Lumpur services. The airline will continue to operate double daily services to Beijing.
