After a series of flight disruptions, including three in three days, Malaysia Airlines (MAS) and its subsidiaries will temporarily cut flights.
This was announced in a news release on Saturday (24 Aug) by Malaysia Aviation Group (MAG), its parent company.
Source: Malaysia Airlines on Facebook
In the statement, MAG managing director Izham Ismail acknowledged the “additional disruptions” that took place on the week of 19 Aug involving MAS and its subsidiaries, Firefly and Amal, saying:
I personally apologise for the disruption to passenger travel plans and the inconvenience this has caused.
He attributed the disruptions to “operational difficulties”, including:
MAG will take “immediate steps to address the root causes of these significant issues”, the statement said.
To “execute corrective measures”, it will need to temporarily reduce its network from now to December 2024.
Source: Malaysia Airlines on Facebook
It did not specify exactly which routes would be cut, only saying:
This is to ensure the long-term reliability of our fleet and robustness of our operations and enhance our ability to ensure our customers on Malaysia Airlines, Firefly and Amal services face minimal disruptions and have the best experience possible flying with us.
The company “deeply regrets” the “significant inconvenience” caused to passengers. Those affected by cancellations will get an email notification followed by an updated itinerary.
A trying week for MAS began when flight MH128 from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur encountered technical issues on 20 Aug.
It had to be diverted to Alice Springs, landing safely that morning.
Source: FlightRadar24
However, Australia’s SBS News reported a passenger saying that the plane’s right engine sounded odd and he felt a “low vibration”. The engine then became “noticeably quiet”.
The captain subsequently announced that the engine had “stalled” and the plane would need to circle for two hours before landing.
Another passenger claimed on Facebook that he had seen the engine on fire, reported The Star.
That same night, MH386 from Kuala Lumpur to Shanghai returned to the Malaysian capital less than two hours after take-off.
Source: FlightRadar24
According to FlightRadar24, the plane declared a general emergency soon after taking off and descended to 3,048m.
This indicated a cabin pressure issue, said the flight-tracking website.
Two days later, MH152 from Kuala Lumpur to Medina was forced to turn back on 22 Aug.
Source: FlightRadar24
This was due to a pressurisation issue, reported Free Malaysia Today.
MAS said the pilots had initiated a precautionary descent, but cabin altitude had remained within safe limits and passenger oxygen masks were not deployed.
The three incidents came after MAG issued an apology on 16 Aug “for the recent increase in flight delays and cancellations”.
In that statement, it blamed “a combination of factors”, including:
The apology was ostensibly issued due to two other previous incidents in August, as well as two in June.
They involved MAS flights to and from Hyderabad, Bangkok, Jeddah and London on 20 June, 24 June, 4 Aug and 5 Aug.
The disruptions were neatly summarised by former Malaysian MP Jeff Ooi as such:
Source: @Jeff4Malaysia on X
In the 5 Aug incident, a British passenger told The Star that about three hours after take-off, the captain said that the plane’s weather navigation system was malfunctioning.
Thus, the aircraft would be diverted to Doha.
In Doha, the passengers were “abandoned” by the crew at the airport in the middle of the night, he said. No replacement flight was coming.
Another passenger said the crew seemed to have disappeared after landing, with no ground workers and no luggage in sight, leading to “utter chaos for several hours”.
Also read: Malaysia Airlines Plane Aircon Allegedly Doesn’t Work, Passengers In Cabin Left Sweating
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Featured image adapted from Malaysia Airlines on Facebook.
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