Iran's 'catastrophic mistake': Speculation, pressure, then admission

Yahoo – AFP, Stuart WILLIAMS, January 11, 2020

An Iranian holds a newspaper with a picture of the debris of the Ukrainian plane
that crashed in Tehran on January 8, 2020, outside a news stand in the Islamic
republic's capital (AFP Photo/ATTA KENARE)

Paris (AFP) - When a Boeing passenger jet crashed in Iran early on January 8, speculation immediately swirled that the only plausible explanation was that it had been shot down by Iran.

The crash of the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight came hours after Tehran had launched a barrage of missiles at bases housing American troops in Iraq, retaliating for the killing of commander Qasem Soleimani in a US strike.

Immediately, theories multiplied arguing that Tehran's air defence system, on high alert for possible US retaliation, may have been triggered by accident.

Western leaders cited intelligence pointing to an accidental strike by Iran. Verified video images later emerged showing a missile striking a plane.

From Wednesday to Friday, Iranian officials repeatedly insisted that the plane had not been shot down. Early on Saturday however, the Islamic republic admitted that the plane had been hit by a short-range missile in what President Hassan Rouhani described as a "catastrophic mistake".

Ukrainian passenger jet crash in Iran (AFP Photo)

What happened on January 8?

The Boeing 737-800NG for UIA's flight PS752 between Tehran and Kiev took off from Imam Khomeini International Airport at 6:12 am local time.

Although there was no distress message from the pilot, the plane had begun to turn back for the airport before crashing at 6:18 am, said the Iranian Civil Aviation Organization. The aircraft came down near Sabashahr on the outskirts of Tehran.

There were 10 departures from Tehran airport that day before flight PS752, according to the Flight Radar 24 monitoring site. That raised questions as to why air traffic had not been halted given the situation.

All 176 people on board the flight PS752 -- mainly Iranians and Canadians, including dual nationals, but also Ukrainians, Afghans, Britons and Swedes -- were killed.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the first major leader to publicly 

state Iran could be to blame for the plane crash (AFP Photo/Dave Chan)

How did pressure grow?

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was the first major leader to publicly state Iran could be to blame. He said Canada had intelligence from multiple sources "including our allies and our own intelligence" that indicated "the plane was shot down by an Iranian surface-to-air missile."

"This may well have been unintentional," Trudeau added.

His language was echoed by other Western leaders including Dutch Premier Mark Rutte, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

US President Donald Trump said he had "suspicions" as "somebody could have made a mistake", and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo then said the United States believed it was "likely" that an Iranian missile downed the airliner.

The New York Times also said it had verified a video appearing to show a missile hitting a plane at night above the Tehran suburb of Parand, west of the airport.

What did Iran initially say?

For three days, Iranian officials refused to countenance any suggestion that one of its missiles had brought down the plane.

The country's civil aviation chief Ali Abedzadeh said that one "thing is for certain, this airplane was not hit by a missile", arguing that it would have exploded immediately if hit by a missile.

Experts questioned that claim, arguing that such missiles explode before coming into contact with the target.

This handout photograph taken and released on January 11, 2019, by The 

National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, shows people analysing 

the remains of the Ukraine International Airlines plane Boeing 737-800 that

crashed outside Tehran (AFP Photo/STR)

What does Iran now admit?

In an announcement early Saturday that took many experts by surprise, Iran admitted it had "unintentionally" shot down the jet after a missile operator mistook the plane for a cruise missile.

Tehran said its systems had been on high alert for American retaliation in the hours after the Iranian strikes on bases housing US troops in Iran.

"He had 10 seconds to decide," the aerospace commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Brigadier General Amirali Hajizadeh said of the operator, who he insisted had "acted alone".

"He could have decided to strike or not to strike and under such circumstances he took the wrong decision."

Rouhani called it an "unforgivable mistake", vowed that compensation would be paid to the families while those responsible would be prosecuted.

What kind of missile was used?

Unverified images posted on social media show the remains of a Russian-made Tor M-1 missile but Tehran has yet to give details on the kind of weaponry used.

Tehran received 29 such air defence systems from Moscow under a $700 million contract signed in 2005, a deal that caused considerable unease in the West.

The Bellingcat open-source analytics website has said the origin of the images is yet to be determined, and the people who captured the images have not come forward.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, pictured on January 9, 2020 in a 

presidential press handout photo placing flowers at a memorial for the victims 

of the Ukraine International Airlines crash in Tehran, has toughened his stance 

on Iran (AFP Photo/HO)

What does Ukraine want now?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, initially wary of blaming Tehran, has toughened his line since Tehran's admission.

After Zelensky spoke to Rouhani later Saturday, the Ukrainian presidency said that Zelensky asked Tehran to allow the bodies of the 11 Ukrainian victims to be repatriated "by January 19".

He added that Ukrainian diplomats had produced a list of steps to be taken to "resolve the compensation issue".

Despite the three days of denial from Tehran, some have compared its reaction favourably to that from Moscow over the crash of the Malaysia Airlines flight shot down over eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Although the Dutch-led Joint Investigation Team says a Russian-made BUK missile fired by pro-Russian separatists was to blame, Russia still denies any involvement.

Iranian police dispersed students chanting "radical" slogans during a gathering in Tehran to honour the 176 people killed when an airliner was mistakenly shot down, Fars news agency reported https://t.co/jtSIrcZiX1

— AFP news agency (@AFP) January 11, 2020

Workers strike at Kuwait airport for better working conditions

Arab News - AFP, 11 November 2019

The right to strike is guaranteed for its citizens but foreign workers, who make up
a major portion of Kuwait’s labor force, do not have the right to strike. Above,
the Kuwaiti international airport. (AFP)

Monday’s strike by Kuwaiti staff did not affect flights, officials said

The right to strike is guaranteed for citizens in Kuwait, but such actions remain rare in the Gulf country

KUWAIT CITY: Hundreds of workers at Kuwait’s international airport held a one-hour strike Monday to demand better working conditions, threatening to stage longer walkouts in the coming days.

Ahmed Mohammed Al-Kandari, a union representative, said workers were calling for improved treatment and to be compensated for daily exposure to pollution and noise.

Monday’s strike by Kuwaiti staff did not affect flights, officials said.

The right to strike is guaranteed for citizens in Kuwait, but such actions remain rare in the Gulf country.

Foreign workers do not have the right to strike.

“Airport traffic is very normal,” Sheikh Salman Al-Hamoud Al-Sabah, head of the General Directorate of Civil Aviation, said.

Another official, Saleh Al-Fadaghi, the airport’s director of operations, also said flights were not affected.

“During the one-hour strike, 19 flights were operated as scheduled. There were five departures and 14 arrivals,” he said.

Kandari said the purpose of the strike was not to disrupt operations but “to make our voices heard.”

He added that Kuwaiti workers would hold a further two-hour strike on Wednesday and a 24-hour strike on Sunday if their demands are not met.

Of 4,500 civil aviation employees, 1,500 took part in Monday’s strike, he said.

Cathay Pacific shares plunge after China warning on protests

Yahoo – AFP, August 12, 2019

Cathay Pacific shares plunge after China warning on protests

Hong Kong (AFP) - Shares in Hong Kong's flagship carrier Cathay Pacific plunged more than four percent on Monday, after Beijing banned airline staff supporting Hong Kong protesters from flights going through the mainland.

Cathay shares lost 4.37 percent to HK$9.85 by the break in Hong Kong, with the carrier's parent company Swire Pacific Ltd. plunging 5.26 percent to HK$77.50.

The nosedive comes as the airline is caught up in pro-democracy protests that have rocked Hong Kong for more than two months.

On Friday, Beijing's aviation regulator ordered Cathay to submit a list of the identities of staff working on flights to the mainland or passing through its airspace.

It warned any staff members involved in "illegal protests" would be banned from such flights.

Cathay's CEO Rupert Hogg said in a message to staff on Saturday that the airline was obliged to comply with the new rules set out by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

"Cathay Pacific Group's operations in mainland China are key to our business. In addition to flying in and out of mainland China, a large number of our routes both to Europe and to the USA also fly through mainland China airspace," Hogg wrote.

"We are therefore legally required to follow CAAC regulations and, as is the case with any notices issued by any regulatory authority having jurisdiction over us, we must and will comply."

Cathay appears to have become a target of Beijing's ire after some of its crew joined protests and media reported one of its pilots had been charged with rioting.

The carrier's chairman John Slosar has defended his staff's right to freedom of thought, saying "we certainly wouldn't dream of telling them what they have to think about something".

But Hogg cautioned staff about their behaviour.

"Though people may share different views, it is essential that we all respect each other, our customers and members of the public," he wrote.

Cathay has suspended a pilot who has been accused of rioting after allegedly participating in the Hong Kong protests.

And it said Saturday that it had fired two airport ground staff, without specifying why. Local media reported that they were accused of leaking the travel details of a Hong Kong police football team that was travelling to the mainland.

Air France shares down nearly 13 percent after CEO quits

Yahoo – AFP, 7 May 2018

Heavy turbulence for Air France, including on the stock market

Air France shares went into a tailspin on the Paris stock exchange on Monday after the resignation of the strike-hit company's CEO.

Air France-KLM boss Jean-Marc Janaillac announced his resignation Friday after staff at the carrier's French operations rejected a pay deal aimed at ending months of walkouts.

Janaillac, who had been in the post for under two years and staked his future at the company on staff accepting the deal, deplored their decision as a "huge waste".

In early bourse business Air France stock was down nearly 13 percent at 7.08 euros.

Staff and management at the carrier have been locked in a dispute over pay since February.

Intermittent strikes in recent weeks have prompted the cancellation of a quarter of flights on average.

Unionised staff are set to walk out for the 14th day on Monday as they press for a 5.1-percent salary increase this year as the company recovers from years of losses and restructuring.

France's economy minister on Sunday warned that the survival of Air France was now in the balance.

"I call on everyone to be responsible: crew, ground staff, and pilots who are asking for unjustified pay hikes," Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire told the BFM news channel.

"Be responsible. The survival of Air France is in the balance," he added.

He warned that the state, which owns 14.3 percent of the group, would not serve as a backstop.

"Air France will disappear if it does not make the necessary efforts to be competitive," he warned.

Heavy turbulence for Air France, including on the stock market.

United Airlines finally apologizes, as image takes beating

Yahoo – AFP, Nova SAFO, With Luc Olinga in New York and Roland Jackson in London, April 11, 2017

Oscar Munoz, President and CEO of United Airlines says the company will
conduct a "thorough review" of its procedures, including "how we handle oversold
situations" and how the airline partners with airport authorities and law
enforcement (AFP Photo/SAUL LOEB)

Chicago (AFP) - The chief executive of embattled United Airlines unequivocally apologized Tuesday for an incident in which a passenger was dragged off a plane, and promised a thorough review of the airline's practices.

The apology came after a torrent of criticism of the carrier's action on a flight Sunday and its initial explanation of it. In images now seen around the world, a passenger was forcefully removed and bloodied in the process -- the entire event captured on video by passengers and posted on social media.

The 69-year-old passenger had refused to be "bumped" off the overbooked flight -- an airline practice that has come under increased scrutiny since the incident.

"I continue to be disturbed by what happened on this flight and I deeply apologize to the customer forcibly removed and to all the customers aboard," CEO Oscar Munoz said.

"I want you to know that we take full responsibility and we will work to make it right."

The comments were in stark contrast to the company's initial response, in which it seemed to at least partially blame the passenger, inflaming worldwide outrage.

US media published an email Munoz sent earlier to employees, in which he said the passenger "defied" authorities and "compounded" the incident.

"Our employees followed established procedures for dealing with situations like this," the CEO wrote.

'No compassion or concern' 

Andy Holdsworth, a crisis management specialist at the British PR firm Bell Pottinger, said United's initial response focused on the wrong thing.

"Whilst the passenger's behavior was not good, United have shown no compassion or concern for the man," he said.

Munoz said Tuesday that the company will conduct a "thorough review" of its procedures, including "how we handle oversold situations" and how the airline partners with airport authorities and law enforcement.

He promised to release the results of the review by April 30.

But the public relations damage was done, with calls for boycotts, the US Department of Transportation promising a review of the airline's actions, and even the White House weighing in.

"Clearly, when you watch the video, it is troubling to see how that was handled," White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said.

The furor battered United's stock Tuesday, sending it down 2.9 percent in afternoon trading and closing down 1.1 percent.

It was the second time in about two weeks the airline found itself in the middle of a firestorm.

In late March, two teenage girls were prevented from boarding a flight in Denver because they wore leggings. The airline defended its action at the time by saying the girls were flying on passes that required them to abide by a dress code in return for free or discounted travel.

"They will need to be careful that these small incidents all start to add up and only remind us of the last incident as well as the current one," Holdsworth said.

'You don't really have any rights'

The passenger on the overbooked Sunday flight from Chicago to Louisville, Kentucky was one of four involuntarily bumped off in order to make room for United crew that needed to be repositioned.

The incident shined a new light on the practice of overbooking and bumping passengers off flights, which airlines increasingly rely upon to avoid losing money on empty seats when some passengers do not show up for scheduled flights.

If they were to stop overbooking, "the only way of trying to compensate for that over the long term would be to raise fares on everyone else," said industry analyst Robert Mann.

Instead, airlines sell more tickets than there are seats on a plane, and are generally able to properly forecast demand to avoid major disruptions in getting passengers to their destinations, Mann said.

But, sometimes, they miscalculate and there are more passengers than a flight can handle.

In those instances, airlines offer travel vouchers and cash compensation to entice passengers to voluntarily give up their seats for later flights.

When enticing does not work, airlines have wide latitude under the law.

"If you're still in the terminal waiting to board, you can be told you can't board, even if you have a reservation," Mann said.

"And once you're on board, you are subject to being deplaned based on the order of the crew. So you don't really have any rights."

Last year, 434,000 passengers volunteered to be bumped off flights, while another 40,000 were bumped involuntarily and compensated.

Image takes a beating: Protesters rally against United Airlines’ forcible removal of a passenger from a plane at O'Hare Airport in Chicago pic.twitter.com/PZ2mLnHf8z

— AFP news agency (@AFP) April 12, 2017

Nepal running on empty

Nepal’s capital city, Kathmandu, is usually a bustling hot pot of bumper-to-bumper traffic, noise, pollution and the odd cow on the road. But nowadays it's eerily quiet, as Sophie Cousins discovered.

Deutsche Welle, 11 Oct 2015

On the main roads you can count on your hand the number of cars and motorbikes that drive by; bicycles are now the main mode of transport. On a positive note, the smog has lifted from the city to showcase the wide-ranging, snow-capped Himalayas, which draws thousands of tourists to the land-locked country every year.

But, while it may be quiet on the streets of the capital, it's a different story at petrol stations across the city. Taxis have been lined up at petrol stations in southwest Kathmandu for the last week, unable to work due to the fuel crisis.

"I have been waiting in my car, queuing, for the last six days. The situation is very bad. What can I do? I need fuel to work," taxi driver Trilocan M.R told DW, while dusting his white, beaten-up taxi. "Maybe by Sunday or Monday I will be able to get fuel."

Waiting for hours for a meager
amount of fuel

A blockade on Nepal's border with India has halted imports, disrupting supplies for more than two weeks during clashes between police and protesters opposing the country's new constitution that have seen more than 40 people killed.

Reliant on India

Nepal is completely reliant on India for all its fuel, food and medicine imports. Thousands of trucks are stranded at the border, which has lead to a severe shortage of fuel, resulting in school and restaurant closures, astronomical taxi prices and public transport shortages. As the blockade on the border shows no sign of easing, Nepal is now considering airlifting fuel from either Bangladesh or Malaysia, according to local news reports, and may build a petroleum storage plant near its border with China.

Back at the petrol station, the army and police try to control crowds as they line up with jerricans and empty bottles of water.

People in the crowd push and shove one another in attempt to reach the only pump with fuel, yelling with frustration that they've been standing for more than 12 hours.

As a result of the critical fuel shortage, taxi drivers are now charging four times the fare to make up for the days they haven't been able to work.

At Purano Bus Park in central Kathmandu the scene is chaotic as hundreds of Nepalis cram onto the rooftop of the limited buses that are still running; babies are passed around over people's heads, and the elderly are shoved and pushed until they get a seat inside. Those who don't manage to squeeze onto the bus, hang off the side of its doors, or stay and wait, hoping for another bus to arrive.

There have been chaotic scenes
in Kathmandu

Tourists staying away

The fuel shortage is not only affecting transport around the country. Restaurants and hotels have been hit hard by another issue making headlines around the world, only a few months since the devastating earthquake that killed more than 9,000 people.

While tourists are slowly returning to the country for the trekking season, hoteliers fear that the latest crisis will further deter people from visiting.

Numerous restaurants have been forced to shut down or offer very limited menus. The only seemingly bustling restaurants in the tourist district were those that can serve wood-fire pizza.

Keshab, owner of Karma Travellers Home, a small hotel in the tourist district of Thamel, said the fuel shortage was of huge concern. "The situation is terrible," he told DW. "I have a few customers but nowhere near as many as I usually would for this time of the year. Customers who are coming to Kathmandu are emailing me asking if there's food to eat because of the fuel shortages. I tell them yes, you have breakfast for as long as I have gas, but after then, no," adding that he'd sent his children back to his village where there is firewood.

After the earthquake, Keshab saw a huge spike in the number of cancellations and is worried that the strikes and fuel crisis could further affect his business.

"Nepal, I think, is a beautiful country. When people come here they say they feels like home, that they like it much better than India. I hope this crisis will be resolved soon."

The crisis is also affecting Nepal's world-famous forests, thousands of which are under control of locals to for sustainability purposes. Krishna Bahadur Khadka from the Federation of Community Forestry Users Nepal, an umbrella organization of community forests across the county, said he was highly concerned about the spike in demand for firewood.

"The fuel situation is a big crisis for the community forests where now more people are getting firewood for cooking," he told DW.

"We are worried that people are now cutting down trees which means carbon emissions are being increased and contributing to deforestation."

'We'll continue to seek the truth about Flight MH370'

Almost a year after its disappearance, the fate of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 remains a mystery - a painful situation that has impacted the lives of many, as Sarah Bajc, whose partner was on the jet, tells DW.

Deutsche Welle, 5 March 2015

It has been a painful year for the grieving families and friends of the victims of Flight MH370. Despite the most expensive search and rescue operation in history, an international team of investigators has yet to find evidence of any wreckage.

Some family members are unwilling to accept the Malaysian government's conclusion that the passenger jet was lost as the result of an accident and that all people on board are dead. They are angry over how both the airline and the authorities have handled the passenger jet's disappearance, arguing no evidence has been found to support such claims. They have also expressed fears that the search operations might be called off.

The fate of the plane has been shrouded in mystery ever since it left Kuala Lumpur for Beijing in the early morning hours of March 8 last year with 239 people on board. Investigators believe an area west of Perth, Australia - along a narrow arc in the southern Indian Ocean - is the most likely resting place of the jet.

One year after the plane's mysterious disappearance, Sarah Bajc, whose partner Philip Wood was on board the flight, talks in a DW interview about how the incident has changed her life, why the victims' relatives mistrust the authorities' claims and how the incident has led to positive changes in the aviation industry.

Bajc: 'Philip's disappearance has
impacted my life in every possible way'

DW: One year on, to what extent has the MH370 incident impacted your life?

Sarah Bajc: Philip's disappearance has impacted my life in every possible way. My daily life, and my future have changed dramatically.

On a personal level, besides the time that we were both at work, we did everything together: drinking coffee on the balcony in the morning, doing yoga, cooking dinner, exploring the city, and sharing our thoughts and feelings.

We traveled extensively, including spending time with each other's children, family and friends. Now I'm alone. I am also constantly disrupted and distracted by my pursuit of the truth. I spend hours every day dedicated to research, discussions with experts, interface with other family members, and conducting interviews with media. It is like I have two full-time jobs: teaching high school and finding Philip.

How have the friends and families of the remaining victims dealt with the plane's disappearance?

Most of the family members have had the opportunity to meet each other, either in person or via social media. In general, it is a very supportive and valuable group.

However, our efforts to share information and help each other have been significantly hampered by the interference of the Chinese and Malaysian authorities as both governments have taken active steps to prevent the family members from organizing more formally.

Still, many of us have become quite close, and we'll continue to work actively together to find the truth.

How have the authorities prevented family members from organizing more formally?

The Chinese government has actively broken up family gatherings, saying they are illegal meetings, and have threatened some family members with prosecution or harassment.

The Malaysians are more subtle. They have discouraged public discussion by promising a sponsored "next of kin" group meeting and then doing nothing, so people are left waiting for help.

In the early stages of the crisis, we asked for help finding all those passengers' families who had not already met each other through other avenues. We wanted to include everyone in our discussions, but the authorities refused to publish central contact links, or even to acknowledge the association we established called Voice370.

What do you make of the way the authorities have handled the incident?

There is only one explanation of two unpleasant options: Either the Malaysian government is grossly negligent due to incompetence and corruption to the point that they have failed to handle even the simplest aspects of this situation, from the beginning until today, or they are intentionally covering up what really happened, either because they are to blame, or at the request of some other power.

Significant evidence that should be
 normally released in an aviation
 incident investigation has been
withheld, says Bajc

Has any member of the Malaysian government met with the victims' relatives?

There have been several very superficial meetings, mostly in the form of a government official making a statement to an audience of family members. There is no honest, interactive discussion. Most emails, letters, and requests for information have just been ignored. I have never been contacted by a government official about Philip or MH370.

You have commissioned a private investigation into the plane's disappearance. What results has it yielded so far?

The only thing we have learned conclusively is that active steps have been taken to silence witnesses and destroy or hide evidence. Dozens of people involved with the situation have been threatened to not talk.

Significant evidence that should be normally released in an aviation incident investigation has been withheld: full cargo manifest, full air traffic control records and recordings, military radar tracking and airline operations center records. If indeed this were an accident, all of those things would be released to validate that diagnosis. Yet they remain hidden. Why?

What do you make of Australia's response to the tragedy and how confident are you that the plane will be found there?

I do not believe the official story that MH370 is in the southern Indian Ocean. As such, the entire effort by Australia is in my view a complete waste of resources and public attention. The government of Australia is either very foolish to have accepted the task of searching the ocean floor without concrete evidence that the plane even went down there, or they are part of the cover-up.

Relatives and friends of the victims are angry over how the authorities have
handled the jet's disappearance

As a response to the disappearance of MH370, members of the United Nations' aviation arm, the International Civil Aviation Organization, recently endorsed a new standard that will require commercial aircraft to report their position every 15 minutes. What do you make of this step?

Yes, this is certainly a step in the right direction, though I would think every five minutes would make far more sense and still be very practical from a technical perspective. This is something that should have been done many years ago.

Other critically-needed changes include: a larger number of secured transponders that cannot be shut off, much more powerful signal beacons at various places on the plane, including the black box, with far longer-lasting batteries.

Sarah Bajc's partner Philip Wood is among the 239 passengers on missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370. Feeling misled by the investigating authorities, she and others have been campaigning to raise money for a whistleblower.

The interview was conducted by Gabriel Domínguez.

Related Article:

Missing MH370 likely to have disintegrated mid-flight: experts

Chinese Families Protest MH370 Deaths Statement in Malaysia

Jakarta Globe – AFP, Feb 12, 2015

A Chinese relative of missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 passengers sits
outside a Malaysia Airlines complex in Subang, Selangor, Malaysia on Feb. 12,
2015. (EPA Photo/Azhar Rahim)

Kuala Lumpur. Chinese relatives of those on board missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 protested outside the carrier’s office on Thursday, demanding Malaysia withdraw a statement declaring all the passengers dead.

The Malaysian government last month officially listed the disappearance of Malaysian Airline flight MH370 as an accident and said all 239 people on board had perished in a move it said would pave the way for compensation claims.

However, the announcement immediately sparked outrage among distraught family members who have shunned offers of compensation as some cling to hope that their loved ones may still be alive.

About 15 people gathered outside the airline’s gates under a hot sun on Thursday wearing white caps and red T-shirts bearing the words: “Pray for MH370.”

They held placards in English reading: “Who can tell us what happened”, “Come back MH370” and “Today it is us, Tomorrow it could be you.”

“My husband was on the flight. We want the Malaysia government to cancel the declaration that they made,” Kelly Wen, wife of a Chinese passenger who was only identified as Li, told AFP.

“My daughter is still alive!” cried 56-year-old Zhang Hui Jun, while being comforted by another woman from the group.

Malaysia Airlines officials then transported the protesters to the nearby Subang Airport and gave them lunch.

Reject declaration

Later, three representatives of the Chinese group were ushered away in a van to meet Malaysia Airlines group chief executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya.

One of the representatives, 63-year-old Wen Wan Shen, whose only son Yung Sheng was on the plane, told reporters that the meeting lasted for 30 minutes.

Wen said they handed a letter to Ahmad Jauhari demanding that the declaration of accident be overturned as there is no credible evidence.

Wen said Malaysia Airlines should pay the families who are struggling with their livelihoods after losing their loved ones, and that they will escalate their demands to other officials including prime minister Najib Razak.

The Chinese families have also demanded for more regular details on search operations.

Malaysia Airlines said it will respond to the relatives’ demands within the next few days.

But the airline said “it is in no position to provide any further clarification or technical information on the fate of MH370 other than what is already available in the public domain”.

The protestors said they are here for the long haul and will stay as long as possible.

More Chinese families of MH370 victims are expected to arrive in Malaysia this week ahead of the Lunar New Year celebrations.

MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014 after inexplicably diverting from its Kuala Lumpur-Beijing course.

The airliner is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean off western Australia but no trace has been found. Australia has been spearheading the hunt for the plane.

Chinese passengers accounted for about two-thirds of the 239 people who were aboard the Boeing 777.

Agence France-Presse

Related Article:

MH370: Malaysia officially declares disappearance of plane an accident

China MH370 families protest for information on missing plane

Yahoo – AFP, 19 Dec 2014

Relatives of passengers from missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 speak
 to a policeman as he makes a phone call outside the Foreign Ministry in Beijing
on December 19, 2014. (AFP)

Grieving family members of Chinese passengers from a missing Malaysia Airlines flight protested outside the foreign ministry in Beijing Friday accusing the government of failing to provide them with regular updates on the search for the aircraft.

About 30 people, many of them elderly, gathered at the gates of the ministry with temperatures approaching freezing and were confronted by a line of police.

They demanded to speak to government officials in a bid to get more information on the search for flight MH370. Police manhandled and pushed protesters that attempted to enter the gate and warned passersby to leave the area immediately.

"My son is alive and I want to know what the government is doing to find him," said Liu Dianyun, the mother of one of the passengers.

Some drove for two hours to attend the demonstration, despite acknowledging that their efforts were unlikely to produce results.

Chinese passengers account for about two-thirds of the 239 people who were aboard the Boeing 777, which vanished on March 8 en route from Kuala Lumpur to China's capital.

Dozens of their relatives were reportedly beaten and arrested earlier this year.

Australia has been spearheading the hunt for the plane, which is believed to have crashed in the southern Indian Ocean off western Australia.