KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 — Malaysia Airlines (MAS) said today it will only fly the next of kin to the 239 people on board the ill-fated Flight MH370 to Perth once authorities have confirmed they have the actual wreckage of the jetliner.
A 26-nation hunt over the southern Indian Ocean where MH370 is suspected to have crashed has so far yielded a plethora of junk littering the sea, including an orange-coloured rope and a blue bag among others, but nothing to conclusively tie it to the Boeing 777 jumbo jet missing since March 8.
“Arrangements will be made as soon as the relevant government agencies have provided clearances for Malaysia Airlines to bring family members to the site where aircraft wreckage will be kept,” MAS chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya said in a brief statement.
He added that once wreckage is confirmed, a Family Assistance Centre will be set up in Perth to help the relatives come to terms with their loss.
The national carrier has come under harsh criticism from families, in particular those related to the 153 Chinese passengers who formed the bulk of those on board MH370.
Frustrated by the lack of updates over the course of three weeks, families have walked out of meetings with airline officials in Beijing and staged demonstrations outside the Malaysian embassy in the Chinese capital as well as at a hotel in Subang Jaya here just hours ago.
