Malaysia Airlines retires flight codes of missing jet
As the search for missing Malaysia Airlines plane MH370 switched to an area where Chinese satellite images showed unidentified wreckage, Malaysia Airlines says that "as a mark of respect to the passengers and crew of MH370," the MH370 and MH371 flight codes will be retired from the Malaysia Airlines’ Kuala Lumpur- Beijing-Kuala Lumpur route.
With effect from March 14, the new flight number to replace MH370 and MH371 will be:
MH 318 – Kuala Lumpur – Beijing
MH 319 – Beijing – Kuala Lumpur
The satellite images released on a Chinese government website show what appear to be large, floating objects in the South China Sea. Previous sightings of possible debris have proved fruitless.
The China-bound plane went missing on Friday with 239 people on board.
It vanished about an hour after it took off from Kuala Lumpur as it flew south of Vietnam.
The Chinese satellite images place the objects 150 miles (250km) or so from the aircraft’s last known position over the South China Sea and 250 miles from an oil rig on which a worker reported seeing a burning object in the sky on Saturday morning.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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