The US-based exploration firm Ocean Infinity will lead the upcoming mission under a “no find, no fee” arrangement. The company stands to receive $70 million (£56m) if it locates the wreckage, Malaysian Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook previously said.

More than ten years after it vanished, Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 will once again be the focus of a renewed search effort, Malaysian authorities announced on Wednesday. The aircraft, carrying 239 people, disappeared on 8 March 2014 while travelling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, triggering what became the largest search in aviation history.

The new mission, set to begin on 30 December, will run for 55 days. It had initially begun in March but was suspended due to poor weather.

“The latest development underscores the (Malaysia's) commitment to providing closure to the families affected by this tragedy,” the transport ministry said Wednesday, according to local media.

A Mystery That Still Haunts Families

Flight MH370 lost contact with air traffic control less than an hour after take-off, and radar later showed the Boeing 777 had deviated significantly from its intended route. Despite multinational search efforts involving 60 ships, 50 aircraft, and 26 countries, the wreckage has never been found. A 2018 investigation concluded that the plane’s controls were likely “deliberately manipulated” to take it off course, but the report stopped short of reaching any definitive conclusion. Investigators said at the time that “the answer can only be conclusive if the wreckage is found”.

Over the years, families of the passengers and crew have repeatedly urged authorities to restart the search, saying the absence of answers has made closure impossible.

Ocean Infinity Leads the New Mission

The US-based exploration firm Ocean Infinity will lead the upcoming mission under a “no find, no fee” arrangement. The company stands to receive $70 million (£56m) if it locates the wreckage, Malaysian Transport Minister Loke Siew Fook previously said.

Previous attempts included a wide-ranging international search that ended in 2017 and a 2018 mission by Ocean Infinity, which lasted three months without success.

With the resumption of the search, hopes have risen once again that one of aviation’s greatest mysteries may finally reach a conclusion.