Aviation
Missing Malaysian plane: Malaysia officials under pressure from China
KUALA LUMPUR — The crisis surrounding the missing Malaysian Flight 370 is looking to intensive as Senior Malaysian officials are growing increasingly frustrated and privately incensed at what they see as excessive pressure from China.
The search for the jet, which vanished in early March, is testing ties between the two countries in a year that their governments had earlier declared “China-Malaysia Friendship Year” to mark 40 years of diplomatic relations.
Two-thirds of the 227 passengers aboard the flight were Chinese, and some of their family members have led a wave of criticism of Malaysia—with the Chinese government’s tacit support—putting Kuala Lumpur on the defensive.
Many of the passengers’ relatives do not believe the official account that the plane was lost at sea and accuse Malaysia of hiding what really happened. Some of the Chinese residents have taken part in protests in that would have been impossible if directed at their own government, including marching in the streets of Beijing carrying signs with slogans such as: “Malaysia Airlines, You Owe Us Answers!”Publicly, Malaysia has tried to placate angry relatives by sending high-level officials to meet with them. But privately, Malaysia is upset that China has allowed such an aggressive approach. Officials see it as hypocritical for China to be demanding that another government be more transparent.
“There is a growing feeling on the Malaysian side that this is a cynical ploy to exploit families in order to deflect attention from China’s domestic political concerns,” said one person close to the investigation in Malaysia.
The Chinese families have been through an emotional wringer and don’t see it that way. The actions of Chinese relatives have been “purely initiated by family members ourselves,” said Steven Wang, who joined last week’s protest. His mother was on Flight 370.
Ei Sun Oh, a Malaysian and senior fellow with the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, said that if the majority of passengers had been U.S. citizens, Americans “would voice dissatisfaction, but they would go to court and sue Malaysia left and right.” Beijing appears to be eager to distract attention from its own limited capacity to find the airplane by allowing protests to take place, he said. “What the Chinese government fears the most is its own population turning its anger against them.” Roderic Wye, associate fellow at the U.K. think tank Chatham House, says that China is also trying to manage its reputation on the international stage. “It is a matter of considerable pride for the Chinese government to show that it can stand up and protect its citizens overseas,” Mr. Wye said. “They haven’t been able to show that.”
A spokesman for China’s foreign ministry, Hong Lei, said in a statement to The Wall Street Journal that finding Flight 370 is the priority. “The Chinese side will continue to cooperate closely and communicate with the Malaysian side,” he said, adding that China had spared no effort to assist in the search.
On Tuesday, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang pressed Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott during a telephone call that the Australian-led search operation “should not be relaxed, much less abandoned,” the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Huang Huikang, China’s ambassador to Malaysia, said in a briefing to local media Wednesday that China’s government felt “gratitude” for the Southeast Asian country’s efforts but said that Malaysia had shown inadequacy in some operations and in coordinating different departments, as well as releasing contradictory and inconsistent information.“But it is a very big disaster and nothing is perfect,” Mr. Huang said. “We can’t pass all the responsibilities to the Malaysian government. … I personally feel that the Malaysian government has put in its greatest efforts.”
The Malaysians have been meeting the families constantly. On Wednesday morning, representatives from 18 Chinese families met with a high-level Malaysian group of officials including technical experts and police, led by department of civil aviation chief Azharuddin Abdul Rahman. The families had arrived Sunday to demand that Malaysia tell them the truth about the aircraft’s fate.
Flight 370 has not been seen since the early hours of March 8 when it lost contact with air traffic controllers on its way to Beijing from Kuala Lumpur. Officials believe it crashed in the southern Indian Ocean, thousands of miles off course. Mystery still surrounds why it went off course and investigators have focused on the crew, but no motive has been found for what Malaysian authorities have termed “deliberate action” in flying the plane and cutting off its communication systems. China is keen to show itself as a superpower but has been unable to match the technology provided by the U.S. and other nations to search for the missing aircraft, although it has sent several ships and planes and provided satellite imagery.
A Chinese military analyst, Wang Xiaoxuan, director of the Naval Research Institute of the People’s Liberation Army, wrote an editorial Wednesday in the China Daily newspaper that said the search has highlighted his country’s “lack of professional equipment,” including undersea probes and satellite tracking.
“There is certainly pressure on the Chinese government,” Mr. Wye said, “and it does help to a certain extent if [Beijing] can shift some of that pressure away from the Chinese government to the Malaysians.”
Despite the spat, however, the long-term impact is likely to be small, say analysts. “The foundation of the bilateral relationship stays the same,” said Huang Jing, director of Centre on Asia and Globalisation at Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, who added that the countries have strong economic ties. However, he said, “the situation will remain tense as long as the plane is missing.”
– WALLSTREET JOURNAL
An Air Peace flight from Lagos to Port Harcourt has suffered a disruption, after the aircraft was affected by a bird strike on arrival at the Port Harcourt International Airport.
The airline made the disclosure on Thursday in a statement signed by its spokesperson, Osifo-Whiskey Efe.
He added that the incident necessitated safety checks on the affected aircraft and the deployment of another aircraft to convey passengers on subsequent flights.
ALSO READ: Rivers’ CJ Declines Setting Up Panel for Fubara’s Impeachment
“We deeply empathise with passengers affected by this unforeseen incident and are working diligently to minimise disruptions,” Efe said.
The latest incident adds to the growing challenge of bird strikes faced by local airlines.
In December 2025, Air Peace disclosed that it recorded 49 bird strikes across Nigeria between January and September, stressing that even a single strike could ground an aircraft for weeks.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Allen Onyema, had said on Arise TV that bird strikes constituted a major operational challenge, often leading to costly repairs and serious disruptions to flight schedules.
“One bird strike could cripple your aircraft for the next month. At that moment, there is no two ways about it. These bird strikes often lead to costly delays and serious disruptions in flight schedules,” he said.
He added that losses from such incidents compound other challenges facing Nigerian airlines, including heavy taxation and operational constraints.
With the firm belief that it is both sadistic and absolutely despicable, the recently announced outrageous hike in airfares to South East from Abuja to Lagos for Yuletide of 2025 by over 131 percent by Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines, the owners have been asked to immediately have a rethink and review backward these harsh, toxic and unfriendly airfares targeting Igbo passengers exclusively.
Making the charge to the chairmen of Air Peace and United Nigeria airlines, Mr. Allen Ugochukwu and Mr. Obiora Okonkwo, the prominent civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) expressed anger that these businesses whose proprietors are Igbo by birth are fond of making it so difficult for hundreds of thousands of Igbo passengers residing outside of the South-East to travel home on Christmas festivities.
The rights group say that for many years now, because Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines are monopolies and then Igbos have the tradition exclusively in Nigeria of going home to South East from all over the globe during Yuletides, these few airlines have decidedly fixed toxic ticketing airfares for Igbos whereas northerners who also travel during their religious festivities of salah are not subjected to such exploitative treatments.
The HURIWA accused the two airlines of price fixing, which is anti-competition just as the Rights group said it is giving these two Igbo-hating airlines to review backward their toxic and discriminatory airfares within ten working days from today or it will petition the federal government publicly funding consumer rights body[Federal Competition and Consumer Rights Commission) in Abuja.
The HURIWA wonders if these Igbo owners of private airlines known for making their planes available to government for free during emergencies are in a conspiratorial plots with haters of Igbo land who are unhappy at the convivial and happy atmospheres in the South East during Yuletide, just as the rights group has appealed to Igbo governors to immediately intervene and urge Mr. Allen Ugochukwu and Mr Obiora Okonkwo to treat the Igbo just as they treat for instance northern Muslims who also migrate home to northern Nigeria from around the globe during their Muslim festivities because what is good for the goose, is good for the gander.
The HURIWA said that if Air Peace Airlines have gotten involved in many humanitarian efforts of airlifting Nigerians from outside of our shores for free, it becomes of the Airline ought not to maltreat their clients of Igbo extraction.
The HURIWA quoted from the business official website of Air Peace in which it described its latest humanitarian effort to be an addition to a growing list of interventions by Dr. Allen Onyema and Air Peace.
Quoting Air Peace website, HURIWA stated that Air Peace said thus: “In 2019, the airline airlifted 503 Nigerians free of charge from South Africa amidst xenophobic attacks. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Air Peace conducted multiple repatriation flights. In 2022, the airline flew Nigerian evacuees out of war-torn Ukraine. In May 2023, Dr. Onyema again deployed Air Peace aircraft to evacuate 277 stranded Nigerians from Sudan.
As the rescued women prepare to begin a new chapter, supported by medical care and reintegration efforts, one truth stands out: Air Peace is more than just an airline — it is a bridge of hope for Nigerians in crisis, and a national symbol of empathy, courage and service,” HURIWA conclusively quoted Air Peace.
The HURIWA therefore strongly condemns the two airlines for hiking and fixing unaffordable airfares indiscriminately against Igbo passengers, even as the festive season draws near, Air Peace and United Nigeria Airlines have raised their return ticket fares to N677,000, a move that could add financial strain on travellers. The rise in airfares reflects the high demand expected during the holiday rush.
Key Points
Air Peace and United Nigeria increase return ticket fares to N677,000 for the yuletide season.
Airfares on routes to the South-East, including Enugu and Anambra, experience the highest surge.
Ibom Air offers comparatively cheaper tickets, with return fares at N381,600.
Air Peace’s one-way fare for December to January peaks at N350,500.
United Nigeria will also charge N350,500 for select routes between December 11 and the end of the year.
Northern routes, including Lagos-Kano, face smaller increases, with fares starting from N106,900.
Experts predict even higher airfares, with one-way tickets possibly reaching N500,000.
The rise in flight prices signals the start of a challenging holiday travel season, with airfares higher than usual due to increased demand. Travelers must be prepared for the surge, with some routes seeing even higher fare projections.
ALSO READ: NNPCL, Partners Ink 20-year 1.29bscf/d Feedgas Supply Deals
The HURIWA is hereby warning the two airlines to withdraw their price fixing malpractices against Igbos or else the Rights group would seek justice and redress for the millions of Igbos who would return home for the 2025 Yuletide from the Federal Competition and Consumer Rights Commission and the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria. The HURIWA threatened to drag the two airlines to the Nigerian President through the Honourable Minister of Aviation and Transportation.
An Abuja-Accra flight experienced technical difficulties mid-air on Friday, forcing it to return to Abuja, shortly after departure.
The Nigerian Safety Investigation Board (NSIB) made the disclosure in a statement, adding that it has launched investigation into what it described as a serious accident.
Director, Public Affairs and Family Assistance, NSIB, Bimbo Olawumi Oladeji stated that preliminary investigations revealed the aircraft experienced an engine number two indication issue.
ALSO READ: BREAKING: Kyari Oversees NNPC Ltd’s Transparent Recruitment Aptitude Test
It was gathered that the aircraft, with registration number 5NKAL which was operating a flight from the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, Abuja (DNAA), to Kotoka International Airport, Accra (DGAA).
She explained that four persons were onboard when the incident occurred. The crew immediately requested for a diversion back to Abuja due to the engine indication.
Oladeji added that the crew managed to safely land the aircraft at Abuja Airport at 18:16 UTC.
There were no injuries reported, and all individuals on board are safe.
WHO Releases Alarming Casualty Figures From US‑Israel‑Iran Conflict
PDP’s Festering Crisis Chases Tambuwal to ADC
$200/barrel Price Likely as Iran Threatens Oil Ships
2026 Poll: Osun Ndigbo Backs Adeleke’s Second-Term Bid
NGX Group, IFC, CSCS and WIMBIZ Convene Leaders to Advance Gender Equality at 2026 Ring the Bell Ceremony
Adeleke on Why he Deserves Second Term
Trump’s Family Unveils New Cryptocurrency Platform
Reps Recommend 3-year Jail Term For Aviation minister
Dangote Cement Lights Up Benue Host Communities With CSR Initiatives
Senate Denies Receiving Petitions Against Tinubu’s Ambassadorial Nominees
Things To Know About Threads, Zuckerberg’s Twitter-like App
