Beijing court orders payouts to MH370 families as search set to resume

A Beijing court has ordered Malaysia Airlines to compensate the families of eight passengers who vanished aboard MH370, awarding each around £307,000 more than a decade after the aircraft disappeared.

The Chaoyang District People’s Court issued the ruling last week, granting payments for funeral expenses, psychological distress and other losses, even though the fate of the passengers remains officially unresolved except through legal declarations of death.

The judgment is a major development for Chinese families, who make up the majority of those lost on the 2014 flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

MH370 disappeared on 8 March that year after its transponder stopped transmitting and the aircraft veered off its planned route. Investigators believe it ultimately crashed in the Indian Ocean, but despite the largest search effort in aviation history, the main wreckage has never been found.

Of the 78 lawsuits originally filed in China, 23 remain active, while 47 have been withdrawn following private settlements with the airline. Malaysian authorities recently announced the search will resume on 30 December, a move welcomed by China’s Foreign Ministry and long-awaited by families seeking closure.

The cause of the disaster remains unknown, with investigators unable to draw firm conclusions without recovering the aircraft.

Image credit: Declan Sun