Malaysia Airlines faux pas in FB post angers MH370 kin
Families of six Australian victims seethe over timing of Malaysia Airlines promotional photo on official FB page, on same day search for missing plane ended.
PETALING JAYA: A Facebook post by Malaysia Airlines on Tuesday, showing two pilots enjoying a hot drink with the message “Good morning from the cockpit! We wish you a great flight wherever you are today.” may have been ill-timed, The Australian reported.
The posting came out just a few hours before the MH370 Tripartite Joint Communiqué, co-signed by the transport ministers of Malaysia, China and Australia, was released announcing an end to search efforts led by the Australian Transport Safety Board (ATSB) for the missing Boeing 777.
The timing may have been coincidental, but it hit a raw nerve for the families of those who were on board MH370 when it went missing almost three years ago.
The daily spoke to Australian victims’ relatives, who claimed the FB posting showed the callous indifference by Malaysia Airlines, and its owner, the Malaysian government, on the tragedy and towards the families’ quest to unravel the mystery.
“So shameful. Perhaps the slogan should be ‘We wish you a great flight, but can’t guarantee you’ll actually see your family ever again’,” Peter Weeks, who lost his brother Paul on MH370, told The Australian.
Paul’s widow Danica, who is now a single mum to their sons Lincoln, 6, and Jack, 3, was especially incensed at the flaunting of luxury by the pilots in the photo.
“The pilots wear Rolexs, but they refuse to fund a further search for my husband, Best friend and father of two young boys … but hey you decide. It’s a crazy world when all morals and values go out the door!” Danica was quoted as saying.
The reaction of a woman who lost her parents was even more telling, as she questioned the conscience of the people at Malaysia’s national carrier.
“The Malaysia Airlines FB post almost feels like they’re mocking the whole situation. It makes you question the company’s level of remorse,” Queenslander Amanda Lawton, who lost her parents Bob and Cathy, told The Australian.
Meanwhile, the outrage over the FB post erupted not long after a press release was issued by Malaysia Airlines which said: “The search has been a thorough and comprehensive effort … we share in the sorrow that the search has not produced the outcome that everyone had hoped for. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are affected by this tragedy.”
The Australian spoke to Queensland trauma psychologist Paul Stevenson, who had spent the past two years assisting the families of passengers on the missing plane, on the matter of the airline’s communications.
“It’s mixing these reality messages with a promotional ad at the same time — I think that’s in bad taste.
“I can see that Malaysia Airlines would want to embark upon both strategies, but to have that featured on the site in the morning, the timing is just all wrong,” Stevenson was quoted as saying.
When asked to respond on the anger towards the airline by the MH370 kin and most people who had visited the FB page, Malaysia Airlines told The Australian: “The post was part of an existing Facebook content strategy intended to share the stories behind Malaysia Airlines. Unfortunately, the post went live several hours before the MH370 tripartite communique on the end of the search.
“At the time of posting, Malaysia Airlines was unaware a statement regarding the MH370 search would be made that day.”
A check by FMT on the Malaysia Airlines FB page, shows that all postings on Jan 17 have been removed.
On Tuesday, the transport ministers of Malaysia, China and Australia released a joint communique which declared an end to the search for Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 after an unsuccessful search effort in the southern Indian Ocean for the past three years.
The next day, the Australian government said it was not ruling out a future underwater search for the missing aircraft, but added there was currently no credible new evidence to warrant that.
Flight MH370, carrying 239 passengers and crew, disappeared on its way from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing on March 8, 2014, .
Meanwhile, The Australian also reported that families of Malaysian victims have said the Malaysian government has engaged in a pattern of trying to shut down the MH370 story domestically.
Representatives of the Malaysian families say mainstream media, including government broadcasters, have reportedly been ordered not to report on the issue.
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The Australian also claimed that a billboard on a “national highway” dedicated to the passengers and crew of MH370 was quietly removed and a memorial at the KLIA also disappeared.