Flight MH370 Update: Search Should Have No ‘Price Limit,’ Airline CEO Says

The continued search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 is uncertain now that Australia has decided not to provide funds past July, but Qatar Airways CEO Akbar Al Baker argues there should be no price ceiling stopping the investigation into what happened to the passenger jet, the News Australia reported.

Millions of dollars have been spent in the search and Al Baker said the International Air Transport Association had not done enough to raise concerns about the search and “unprecedented” disappearance.

“For me as the CEO of an airline, it’s very concerning that the international community for monetary purposes are going to abandon the search for this aeroplane,” Al Baker said Wednesday. “I don’t think there is any amount that is too much to find why this tragedy happened where over 200 people lost their lives.”

The search for MH370 will likely not continue beyond July with the Australian government deciding not to provide additional funds for the operation. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau’s budget has been significantly slashed and the agency will also lose nine staff members.

Australia has contributed more than $67 million to the search effort, the Herald Sun reported. Both the Chinese and Malaysian governments have also contributed financially to the search. China has spent more than $14 million while Malaysia has spent in excess of $55 million in the search efforts.

“It is very critical for all in the industry, all the countries in the world to try to find the wreckage of this plane, to find out exactly what happened,” Al Baker added.

Debris from MH370 has washed ashore in both Mozambique and the island of Reunion. A wing part called a flaperon was found on Reunion and investigators said its discovery was consistent with ocean currents.

MH370 disappeared on March 8, 2014, while the aircraft was over the Indian Ocean en route from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing. There were 239 people on board. The missing Boeing 777 has 3 million components and had a maintenance check a month before it disappeared, Bloomberg reported.