Chinese court orders Malaysia Airlines to pay families of 8 missing MH370 victims

The airline must pay over US$410,000 per passenger in China’s first formal compensation ruling on flight that vanished 11 years ago

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Chinese relatives of flight MH370 passengers take part in a prayer service in Beijing in April 2014. Photo: AFP

Published: 10:19pm, 8 Dec 2025Updated: 10:29pm, 8 Dec 2025

A Chinese court has ordered Malaysia Airlines to pay over 2.9 million yuan (US$410,240) per victim to family members who filed suit over missing flight MH370, 11 years after it disappeared over the Indian Ocean, state broadcaster CCTV said on Monday.

The order, issued on Friday by the Chaoyang District People’s Court in Beijing, covers eight missing passengers. It is the first formal compensation ruling by a Chinese court on flight MH370.

It includes death compensation, funeral expenses and mental anguish damages.

Malaysia Airlines has not yet responded to the order.

On March 8, 2014, the Boeing 777 aircraft departed Kuala Lumpur for Beijing and disappeared from air traffic radar 39 minutes after take-off. None of the passengers or crew members have ever been found, making it one of the most mysterious tragedies in aviation history.

There were 227 passengers aboard MH370, including five children, and 12 crew members. Most passengers were Chinese, but there were also citizens of the United States, Indonesia, Russia and other countries.

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