Families of the people who were on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 are feeling a new sense of hope. Malaysian officials confirmed that search teams will return to the Indian Ocean to look for the missing plane, almost 11 years after it disappeared.
MH370 vanished on March 8, 2014, while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing with 239 people on board. The last words from the co-pilot, Fariq Abdul Hamid, came 38 minutes after takeoff when he told air traffic control, “All right, good night.”
Two minutes later, the plane stopped sending signals. Military radar later showed the aircraft turning off its flight path over the Strait of Malacca before disappearing near Penang Island.
Over the years, investigators found a few possible pieces of wreckage, but the main crash site was never located. Australia and Malaysia eventually ended their official investigations.
Earlier this year, experts said they believe they know the plane’s most likely crash location. Families and independent experts kept pushing for another search, and now they finally have reason to believe more answers may come.
Malaysia’s Ministry of Transport said the government will restart the deep-sea mission on December 30. US-based Ocean Infinity will lead the 55-day operation. The team plans to focus on areas with the strongest evidence and the highest chance of locating the aircraft.
“The Government of Malaysia wishes to update that the deep-sea search for missing wreckage of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 will be resuming on 30 December 2025. Ocean Infinity has confirmed with the Government of Malaysia that it will recommence seabed search operations for a total of 55 days, to be conducted intermittently,” the ministry said. Officials said Ocean Infinity confirmed the timeline with the government and will carry out the search in phases. The company and the government agreed to the plan under their service agreement signed in March 2025.
Authorities said they want to give families clarity and will keep reviewing all credible evidence. They also said they remain committed to understanding what happened in 2014.
Malaysia Transport Minister Anthony Loke noted last year that Ocean Infinity’s proposal gave the government enough reason to consider restarting the mission.
“Based on the latest information and analysis from experts and researchers, Ocean Infinity’s search proposal is credible and can be considered by the Malaysian government as the flight’s official registrar,” he said. He added that the cabinet will need to sign off once final details are complete.
For MH370 passengers’ families who have waited more than a decade, the renewed search offers something they have not felt in years that is a chance for long-awaited closure.
